Natalie frowned in disgust at the scene before her. Those bastards weren't just acting on basic physical urges—they'd twisted all the pressure and emotional chaos of the apocalypse into something sick, channeling it into violence and abuse against these women. The women came rushing out of the room in a panic, scrambling to get away. A few skinny kids—no older than eight or nine—were caught up in the crowd, boys and girls alike. When she saw the kids, Natalie couldn't hold back her anger. "Fucking animals," she spat. The people pouring out of the room caught sight of Natalie, standing there clean and neatly dressed, and many of them looked at her with envy. Two young women in their early 20s suddenly dropped to their knees beside Natalie. One reached out to grab her, the other reached for Cassian. "Thank you! Thank you for saving us! We've got nowhere to go. Please, take us with you!" "Please! You've come this far, just save us all the way!" "I can do anything—cook, clean, whatever you need! Just ... just give me a place to stay!" The two girls were quick-witted. They understood that in their current state, escaping out into the world would only lead to death. So they clung to Natalie and Cassian like lifelines. After those two knelt, several others caught on and quickly followed, all begging to be taken in. Of course, not everyone trusted them. Some people kept their distance and hurried off on their own. Natalie and Cassian exchanged a glance, then instinctively took a step back in unison.These people were pitiful, no doubt about that, but they weren't saints. It wasn't like they could just bring everyone home and take care of them. Natalie turned to Cassian for his opinion. "Should we at least leave them some food?" Cassian nodded. "Up to you." Natalie gave a nod, cleared her throat, and spoke loudly, "We can't take you home with us, but we'll leave you some food to help you get through for now. As for the rest of your lives, you're gonna have to stand on your own. The Grayhound Sect is gone. If you've got nowhere else to go, you can stay here in the hotel and make it your shelter." The two girls who had first begged for help immediately lit up with joy. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" But not everyone was grateful. A sharp voice cut through the crowd. "Hah, and here I thought you were some kind of heroes. Turns out you're just throwing scraps at us ... Grayhound Sect had stockpiles of supplies. I bet you two helped yourselves to the best of it. Now you're tossing us leftovers and pretending to be saviors?" Natalie turned her gaze toward the woman who'd spoken—a bitter-looking woman in her 40s, face twisted with spite. Some people were just hopeless. Even after being chewed up by the apocalypse, they still hadn't learned the value of keeping their heads down. Natalie scoffed. "You were all meek and silent when the Grayhound Sect was abusing you. But now that someone actually helps you out, you grow a damn spine and start mouthing off?" She turned to Cassian with a sigh. "Told you—being the good guy sucks." As she spoke, her eyes flicked to the rifle slung over his back. Cassian caught the look and smirked. He knew exactly what she wanted. Without a word, he took the rifle off and handed it to her.Natalie grabbed it smoothly, aimed it at the woman, and pulled the trigger. One clean shot to the head. "Aaahhh!" "Oh my God!" Screams erupted instantly. Natalie lowered the rifle and swept her gaze over the terrified crowd. Her voice rang out, cold and sharp. "Listen up, I'm not a good person. I don't have any hobbies ... except killing. If you want food, go wait in the lobby downstairs. If you've got a problem with that, then shut your mouth and walk away. Say one more word of bullshit, and you end up just like her. Dead." The place fell completely silent. Not a single person dared to speak. One by one, they quietly started making their way out. Natalie gave a satisfied little snort. "Yeah, way easier being the bad guy." She was just about to toss the rifle back to Cassian when something in the crowd caught her eye—two people who looked ... off. Everyone else had wrapped themselves in bedsheets, mostly just covering their bodies, thrown over their shoulders or tucked under an arm. But these two? They had their entire heads covered, faces completely hidden. Who the hell runs for their life wrapped up like that? Covering their eyes like that, they'd barely be able to see where they're going. Sure enough, the two of them walked all crooked and awkward, like they could barely keep their balance. Natalie narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right. "You two—stop right there!" Under those sheets were Lillian and Rosalie. The second Natalie shouted, Lillian's heart dropped. Shit. This is bad. If we get caught now, we're screwed.She gripped Rosalie's arm tighter and kept moving, pretending not to hear a thing. Just get to the door, just get through the door ... But Natalie wasn't buying it. The way the two ignored her only made her more certain something was off. Normally, even if someone wasn't sure they were the one being called, they'd at least turn around to check, just like everyone else around them was doing. People glanced over, realized Natalie wasn't talking to them, then kept walking.