Those people—former shelter-dwellers or scavengers—had not eaten real meat in ages; to them, seeing canned meat now felt dearer than a father. As Caroline and the others moved in, they slid back into the shadows as if to change clothes nearby, just like they had said. But just as they were about to enter the attack range, a tall, silent man suddenly spoke up. "Hey, why's William so quiet today? Is he hurt or something? You used to be the chattiest one!" Denton, who was imitating William, froze mid-step. William's voice was peculiar and hard to fake; when the tall man spoke, the group that had been stepping forward all stopped and fixed their gaze on Caroline and the others. "We're all brothers here, so why go change clothes over there? Change them right here." The tall man, seeming to have noticed something, urged them on. Tyler lowered his voice and said, "He just crawled out of the corpse pile, covered in virus. William's injured, so we will help him with the wound later." Denton cleared his throat roughly in response. Under the dim light, they stared at one another for a long beat. No one spoke. "All right, then change your clothes." The tall man nodded and started walking toward the stacked supplies. The others chatted eagerly. But Caroline could tell the tall man did not fully trust them, because he stayed tense, eyes tracking their movements. They couldn't wait any longer—any hesitation would expose them. At that moment, Caroline and the others exchanged looks and stepped forward quickly. Caroline's attack radius was about 10 feet across. She unleashed her ability, and in an instant, three people in the crowd dropped. Denton and Tyler rushed in too, though their powers were not on Caroline's level; they still managed to kill one each, and Tyler wounded another.Even so, the original nine-strong squad was reduced to about three and a half. The remaining men panicked and clustered around the tall man, their leader. "What a shame," Caroline murmured with a sigh. Because the tall man she most wanted dead was not dead. She had just tested him and sensed something solid and unbreakable around his neck. That must be something her ability could not pierce. That had to be the leader's power William had warned them about. One of the injured was the woman who had just stepped forward; her right arm had been severed, and she lay moaning as a bespectacled man tended the wound. Caroline remembered from William's intel that this woman was the one who could produce water. The tall man was the boss; another older-looking man was likely the speed ability user. "Looks like William's lot is all dead. Didn't expect you to survive the plague," the boss said with a sigh, but there was not a shred of genuine concern in his gaze for William's people. "You're impressive. Those plagues we spread killed everyone before," he sneered at Caroline and the others. "But the better you are, the more supplies you've got. I'll kill you, take everything from your space, and then wipe out everyone in that shelter!" Big talk—he clearly was used to running rampant and had done many dark deeds. He also assumed Caroline was the one with spatial ability, and that the three people who had just been taken down were done by the fellow who had been standing there—Denton. So he looked at Caroline with contempt. Having gauged their opponents' abilities, Caroline and the others glanced at one another and struck. Before attacking, Caroline stepped back and pulled the supplies she had placed out into the space back inside. There were canned meats among them, and the boss might turn can lids into weapons. Seeing the supplies vanish, the boss flared with anger and activated his skill. Immediately, the air filled with the clanging of metal, like countless pieces colliding. Everyone tensed.Tyler had already used his ability, transforming into a metal warrior swinging a long blade as he charged at the boss. Denton transformed into a buglike form, but he was wearing the Rat King hide—a skin no one could see through. The Rat King hide was incredibly hard; bullets could not penetrate it, and ordinary metal attacks were useless against it.