Professor K didn't stay because he figured he might not have the heart to leave if he lingered any longer. He had no family. The only companion he had was a dog he'd raised for four or five years. Professor K was born into a family of scientists. Both his parents had been early members of the Starborn Order, and they died young. Luckily, he had been obsessed with research since he was a kid. He never cared whether anyone in his family stuck around. He buried himself in work for decades. He never married, and he had no children. After the apocalypse hit, he chose to remain at Firestone as a caretaker. One day, he took in a puppy that was about to be eaten by zombies. The pup's mother had already been ripped apart. The little dog was still nursing, alone, terrified, and helpless in a crowd of starving undead. Professor K rescued it. He raised it from a milk-drinking pup. He fed it, bottle by bottle, then bowl by bowl. He watched it grow. That dog never left his side. … The pup, strapped into the helicopter, barked furiously down below. Professor K, pushing his wheelchair, heard the sound and felt a pain that had no name. The resolve that had always been cold and steady as ice loosened in a way that felt strange. Am I really making a mistake? He didn't dare stay any longer. He spun his wheelchair away like he was running from something. Theresa glanced at his retreating figure but didn't say a word. She turned to Bennie. "Where is Aunt Tania? Is she gone?" "Aunt Tania isn't leaving," Bennie replied. Theresa frowned and went straight to find Tania. Half an hour later, she came back to the helicopter carrying Tania, who had passed out. After getting Tania inside, she looked at Bennie. "Everyone else filled up?""No." Bennie shook his head. "So far, no one's signed up." Theresa didn't respond. She took Tania into the helicopter, then looked around at her alliance, her gaze finally settling on Bennie. "You're coming too." Bennie froze, completely caught off guard, and Theresa pushed him forward. "With your cowardly streak, you're useless in the field. Go with them, take care of Aunt Tania and my dogs." Bennie didn't know what to say. Theresa had no patience for a coward like him. After all these years, she knew him too well. He was far too cautious, unwilling to risk himself under any circumstance. She always thought it was a waste of his amazing Domain ability. Some people's abilities were basically fake abilities, and Bennie was one of them. He could never be relied on to use his ability fully in combat. Theresa even figured that if they lived in a war-torn era, Bennie would probably have been a high-ranking translator, all prestige and zero risk. She didn't expect anything from him. Sure enough, after Theresa pushed him onto the helicopter, Bennie, still in shock, showed no hesitation in his usually cool look. "Alright, I'll go." "Go." "You're really not coming with us?" Theresa looked him dead in the eye. "If I went with you, you'd still live? Forget it, coward." Bennie had no answer. She waved her hand, annoyed, and turned toward her office. Inside the helicopter, he watched her disappear into the distance. His brow furrowed, and as the helicopter lifted higher, her figure vanished completely. His eyes were clouded with a deep struggle. … Theresa returned to her office, where Lucas, Theron, and a bunch of camp leaders were already gathered. She got right into a meeting with everyone, laying out their strategy for the upcoming attack and defense. They worked through the night and into the next day.Lucas would take a team to guard Ark Camp Two, others would split into waves to support Ark Camp One and Ark Camp Three, and the rest would stay at the main camp with Theron. Inside the camp, they were busy setting traps and fortifying defenses. Their goal was clear: to kill zombies and defend the human settlements. Theresa's mission was even bigger. She needed to take down the Starborn Order and reveal their hand. Her final trump card was a nuclear strike. If she could eliminate the Starborn Order, the global zombie tide wouldn't matter. Zombies were dangerous, but each one killed was one less threat. As long as humans survived, there was a chance to turn things around. Right now, Theresa was focused on wiping out the Starborn Order. … After the meeting, she spent half the night chain-smoking in her office. Later, she got up to leave and get some sleep. Right outside the door, she ran into Graham. "What are you doing here?" Graham's eyes lit up when he saw her. Then his cheek flushed red as he stood up. "Theresa, our whole team wanted me to pass you a message. We're afraid we won't get another chance to say it."