Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [15]

"She just called me crazy..." Owen murmured, still unable to get over Mira's expression of looking at a lunatic.

"Idiot," the black-haired man beside him rolled his eyes and turned to Felix to inquire, "Boss, are we really going to leave her here?"

Felix stared at the squatting girl across them, his eyes squinted thoughtfully.

"My ability doesn't work on her."

The car fell silent.

Felix was referred to as a 'boss' for a reason. Other than being the country's youngest marshall, he was also known to be one of the most powerful ability-users among them.

He has two abilities: the first was reading people's thoughts and memories, and the second was producing and controlling water.

In Country Z, these abilities were unheard of, but in Country Y, people from higher posts are well aware that this apocalypse not only brought about simple physical changes, but also a completely different genetic breakthrough. In a sense, this so-called apocalypse was a hidden opportunity for humans to evolve.

Country Y's advanced technology allowed it to be the first country to discover the rapid virus mutations and attempt to make a vaccine out of the samples, but instead of making the subjects immune to the virus, it triggered a completely unscientific genetic modification instead.

The first 'superpower' to be discovered was physical enhancement, followed by mental abilities, elemental control, spatial abilities, and healing abilities.

Felix was one of the first people who gained abilities. He volunteered to become a human test subject for the first batch of experimental vaccines. It could be seen that his luck was extremely good, seeing as not only did he not turn into a zombie, but he even gained two abilities at once.

This made him the first and only dual-ability person in Country Y. Of course, in order to guard himself against outsiders, only a few select people know about his mental ability. On the surface, he is only a high-level water ability user.

All the people in the car happened to be high-level figures who know about his real abilities.

Seated at the front were two special soldiers from his team who has fought alongside him for six years, and at the back were the sons of the current prime minister and military department head.

Therefore, when Felix mentioned that his ability didn't work on Mira, everybody was already well aware that he was talking about his mental ability.

"It's either she has a higher-level ability or she has a device that can block your brain waves..." the man in the passenger seat commented.

"Ah, that's right!" Owen glanced across the road, "She's wrapped with such a thick blanket, maybe she's hiding some device or weapon! She didn't attack us... well, hmph, she must've known that she can't beat us, so she insisted on leaving by herself-ah what a cunning girl!"

"I thought you liked her? Just a few moments ago, weren't you clamoring to keep her here? Why are you badmouthing her now?"

"She called me crazy! Why am I not allowed to call her cunning?"

"She was just telling the truth though..."

"You...!"

Felix also looked towards the direction that Owen was staring at. Coincidentally, his eyes met the girl's suspicious gaze. She looked at them strangely, as if to ask why they haven't left yet.

[ What are they waiting for? Why are they still here? Could it be... they really want to kidnap me? ]

Suddenly, a train of thoughts entered Felix's mind. His indifferent expression turned into surprise.

Did he just read Mira's mind?

In order to find out whether or not he was just hallucinating, Felix concentrated once again, trying to infiltrate Mira's mental defenses. To his surprise, he was able to easily use his power on her this time.

[ Ah, I'm all alone, and I don't even have a phone with me... how can I call the police? Oh no, damn it, how did I even get here in the first place? All I remember was-wait, what? Why can't I recall anything? Where did I come from? What the heck... Who am I? ]

As Mira became more panicked, her thoughts also became messier. Felix was puzzled by what he had just witnessed.

[ What am I doing here? Who am I? Am I just dreaming? Ow, why am I not waking up? ]

[ AAAA!!! What is happening? Why can't I remember anything? Damn it, what's wrong with me? ]

"She forgot...?" Felix murmured subconsciously.

Going by the logic that Mira has amnesia, it could be explained why he was unable to take a look at her memories earlier on. It would also explain her strangeness-insisting on waiting for a taxi, getting confused when he asked about her base, how she called Owen 'crazy' after he mentioned zombies, suspecting that they were kidnappers...

Someone who has experienced the terrors of the apocalypse would at least try to negotiate with them, and if negotiations don't work, they would either resort to combat or just take their own lives. It isn't uncommon for people with corrupted minds to rape and torture others, so in order to not experience the same fate, many would rather commit suicide than be taken away by strangers.

In this era, even closest relatives can stab you in the back, what more about strangers? Mira's reaction after waking up in a group of strangers' vehicle was way too different from what anyone would expect. She was neither too aggressive nor non-defensive. She maintained her vigilance, but not to the point where she would unhesitatingly make a killer move when the time comes.

In short, her response was not that of a person from the doomsday.

Could it be that she really lost her memory?

But, if so, wouldn't that mean she was useless to them?

Tat-tat-tat.

There was a knock on the car's window.

A tall, bearded man peeked inside through the still-open door.

"Is there something wrong? Why did we stop?" he asked.

Actually, he already guessed that this had something to do with the lady who left the boss's car, after all, the blanketed girl on the roadside was too conspicuous to not notice.

"It's nothing important. The issue has been resolved, we can go now," Felix was the one who answered.

The bearded man, Logan, looked at the crushing girl hesitantly, "Um, will we leave her just like that?"

"Why? Do you want to take her away?" Felix raised his brows.

"No, I mean... A person like her shouldn't be weak, or at least, she must have someone to rely on for her to remain that clean. Wouldn't she be useful to us?"

It took a while for Felix to reply.

"...She lost her memories. She can't give us any useful information."

The others were surprised to hear this.

"What?!" Owen immediately had a violent reaction, "How do you know?"

"Previously, I couldn't read her memories, so I assumed that my ability didn't work on her, but just a while ago, I tried to read her mind and it worked. She is not immune to my ability, she just has no memory," Felix explained, "Also, I read her thoughts and it seemed that she just discovered her current situation."

Owen frowned, "Are you really sure she can't remember anything?"

"She couldn't even remember her own name," Felix stated, then paused, "I am confident in my ability. Mouths can lie, but the brain can't."

"Okay, I don't doubt your ability," Owen sighed, "It just feels... a little unbelievable. It's like a plot that can only be seen in movies..."

The black-haired man sitting beside him slapped the back of his head lightly.

"Ow!"

"Idiot, the world is already filled with zombies and you're still amazed by this?"

"..."

Owen was rendered speechless this time. He almost forgot, they were already living in a world straight out of a movie, why should someone's amnesia be so shocking?

"Alright, so do we just leave her here?" the bearded man asked.

"Hm," Felix hummed positively, "We have no reason to take her with us."

"But..." Owen took a glance at Mira hesitantly, "Wouldn't it be too pitiful to leave her alone like this? She can't even remember her name, how can she survive in this world?"

Felix looked at him coldly, "You want to take care of her? She will be a burden to our group."

"I... Well, we can just accompany her to the capital, can't we? We're headed there anyway. Besides..." Owen took another glance at Mira, his heart tightening out of pity, "If we leave her here, she would surely die. We are in the apocalypse. Many people have abandoned their humanity. I don't want to trample on my own conscience."

He stared at the expressionless Felix, and he suddenly became more determined, "Boss, let's take her with us! I will be responsible for her. You don't have to allot extra rations for her, I can just share mine. You don't have to worry about protecting her either, I'll cover her... And, if you're worried about her betraying us, well, you can just read her mind, can't you?"

Felix pursed his lips upon seeing Owen's eager expression. His eyes shifted to the girl huddled in a blanket by the other side of the road.

"Okay," Felix replied lightly, "I'll give you five minutes. If you can make her agree to go with us, I won't object."

Owen smiled happily, but soon after, his mood plummeted.

Ah!!! This woman is so infuriating!!! He clearly wants to help her, but why does she keep looking at him like he's some sort of lunatic?!?!

"Zombies? Do you think you can fool me with such a crazy lie?" Mira looked at him incredulously, subconsciously leaning away from him.

"I'm not lying! There really are zombies roaming around everywhere!"

Mira frowned, visibly unconvinced.

"Look, I just want to help you-" Owen glanced back and met Felix's eyes. The man gestured to his wrist, reminding Owen of the time, "-I, I... I can prove it!"

Owen's eyes lit up. How can he prove such an inconceivable thing? Of course, that is to directly demonstrate something even more unbelievable!

Owen opened his palm, and small sparks of light gathered until a bright flame covered his entire palm. He closed his hand into a fist, and the flame disappeared. Then, he opened his hand again, and the flame reappeared. Witnessing this scene, Mira's eyes widened in surprise, and the way she looked at Owen was no longer so repulsive.

However, she was still distrustful of him.

"...What tricks are you playing?"

Owen sighed helplessly, "I'm not playing any tricks, I'm telling the truth. Look-"

The cluster of flames left his hand and hit the road, and in an instant, a burnt smell arose. The fireball left an extremely dark and conspicuous mark over the asphalt road, demonstrating how high the temperature of the fire must have been.

"-the world is like this now. There are some people who have gained special abilities like me, but there are even more people who have turned into brainless zombies. Nowadays, it's hard to survive alone, especially since zombies keep evolving. We just want to take you with us to the capital base of this country. You will be much safer there."

Hearing Owen's patient explanation, Mira fell into deep contemplation.

Felix, who was on the other side of the road, took this as an opportunity to find out what was on her mind.

[ He must be lying, zombies can't be real... right? But those flames-they were too real. Now that I realize it, why are there no vehicles going down this road? This should be the main road, but why does it feel so barren? Ugh, why can't I remember anything? Could I have woken up in a new world? Did someone purposefully erase my memory? Why can't I remember? ]

Mira's thoughts were rapid and discordant.

Amnesiacs may forget their own memories, but this does not mean that they would also lose their common sense.

In her case, she had no memory of her own identity, but her worldview must still be intact.

Felix also understood this well.

[ I'm going to go crazy with all these questions... Damn it, should I just go with them? ]

Owen glanced at Felix nervously. The five minutes should be up soon, but it looks like Mira still wasn't convinced. Should he just give up on persuading her? But... she would die...

"Okay," Mira took in a deep breath and sighed, "I'll go with you."

×××

Owen: Sigh, this little beauty is so pitiful...

Owen: Nevermind, she is so annoying and mean! Hmph!

Owen: Oh, she can't remember anything... Poor little beauty...

Owen: She looks so squeamish, I have to take good care of her...

Owen: Ah, will she like the food we'll distribute later??

Owen: She must get scared of the zombies' appearances later on... Will she cry?

Owen: I have to protect her well!

Mira: It's so refreshing to pretend to be an amnesiac~