TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 249: Ada: This Girl Really Doesn’t Listen (Patreon)

“All right, that’s for later.”

Ada urged Luke to leave as soon as possible.

“Saddler may be dead, but there are still other eyes watching this island. We need to get out of here while we can.”

She was talking about Wesker.

Wesker himself had barely appeared, but Luke hadn’t seen Krauser during the fight with Saddler. Most likely, Krauser had been sent by Wesker.

He had only been cooperating with Saddler temporarily.

The group quickly boarded the speedboat and sped out across the open sea.

Behind them, the island fell silent along with its final ruler.

...

On the other side of the island, another small speedboat was hidden behind a cluster of rocks.

Krauser leaned against one of them, pale and battered, his severed arm still bleeding. A large pool of blood had formed beneath him, and he walked with an awkward limp.

He pulled out an encrypted communicator and pressed the transmit button.

“...It’s me.”

His voice was weak.

Wesker was naturally on the other end.

But unlike the way he spoke to Ada, Wesker showed Krauser little courtesy.

“Go ahead.”

“Mission failed.” Krauser gritted his teeth. “Saddler is dead. Los Illuminados have basically been wiped out. Your little bird and that man nearly tore the entire island apart.”

“So you fought him. What did you learn?”

There was no emotion in Wesker’s voice.

“I couldn’t get a read on him.”

That brief answer made Wesker remove his sunglasses, revealing those unsettling eyes.

“You couldn’t even gauge his limits?”

“I’ve seen plenty of monsters, but never anything like him. What kind of modified test subject can stay completely human and still tear off one of my arms that easily?”

Krauser almost sounded as if he were questioning Wesker himself.

“Did you create that guy? Because if you did, congratulations. You found the path to human evolution.”

Wesker’s fist tightened instinctively.

Cold light fell across his expressionless face.

The monitors on the wall should have been showing him everything happening on the island, but Ada had destroyed them all.

He knew now that making a move against Luke had been a serious mistake.

He had angered that little wildcat, and cleaning up the mess would not be easy.

Wesker tapped his fingers lightly against the desk.

Plaga, the Amber, Saddler. None of them mattered much to him anymore.

Luke’s blood was more valuable than any biological test subject.

If Luke had undergone some kind of modification, then whatever virus had changed his body was undoubtedly one of the most successful evolutionary catalysts ever created.

And if he had never undergone any biological modification at all...

Then Darwin’s theory of gradual evolution was missing something fundamental.

Human evolution might not always happen step by step.

Perhaps it could occur in sudden leaps, with those genetic changes then being inherited and refined by later generations.

Luke’s future bloodline would become one of Wesker’s highest-priority subjects for observation and research.

“Ah... fascinating. Just how far can this beautiful thorn-covered flower grow?”

Feverish excitement appeared on Wesker’s face.

He looked like an archaeologist witnessing a lost stage of human evolution with his own eyes.

He was watching history unfold.

“No. I need patience. I have to be patient!”

His body shifted restlessly, making the chair beneath him creak.

“His blood is the antidote!”

Wesker picked up the private radio Ada had left behind.

She probably wouldn’t be coming back for it.

For once, Wesker hesitated.

But he never pressed the transmit button.

A hunter who moved too early ruined the hunt.

He needed a better opportunity.

A moment when Luke would willingly offer up his blood.

And when that moment came, there would be no escape.

“Krauser, come back. You’ll undergo a second round of modifications. I’ll push you beyond your true limits.”

Wesker’s voice returned to its usual calm confidence.

“The game has only just begun.”

...

Far out at sea, the speedboat raced smoothly across the water.

Ada leaned against the side of the boat, watching the sunset spread across the ocean. Waters that had been stained with blood not long ago were now covered in an almost unreal golden glow.

Ashley watched the island recede into the distance and finally allowed herself to relax.

The moment the tension left her, however, her eyes landed on Ada.

She was breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly capable.

Who could possibly compete with a woman like that?

Ashley lowered her head.

She couldn’t see her toes.

Was she too fat?

She floated in the bath, after all.

That had to mean she was too fat, right?

“Hey!”

Ashley gathered her courage and called toward the bow.

“Um... Luke?”

Ada and Luke both looked over at her.

“Would you be interested in joining our city-state? My dad has a lot of influence. I could ask him to give you a very important position. You’re even stronger than the captain of our BSAA team!”

Ashley shifted slightly to the side, just in case the woman in red decided to kick her overboard.

“I could even... make you my personal bodyguard!”

The innocent college girl clearly wasn’t as timid as she looked.

At the very least, she had the nerve to poach Ada’s man right in front of her.

Luke almost wanted to applaud the courage alone.

“Oh, really?”

Ada maintained her usual cool, aloof expression, but amusement danced in her eyes.

“Looks like our knight has captured another girl’s heart. So, what do you think? Going to accept?”

“Personal bodyguard, too.”

“You’d be right by her side while you’re working. And when you’re off duty...”

Ashley’s face turned bright red.

She had expected Ada to get annoyed.

Instead, the female agent showed no jealousy whatsoever.

Her reaction caught Ashley completely off guard.

This...

This wasn’t right!

There was definitely something going on between those two, but then why was Ada acting like this?

Luke put on a serious expression.

“Ashley, everything we’ve been through has been exciting and dangerous, but don’t mistake me for some nice guy. I’m a genuine bad guy.”

A wicked smile appeared on his face.

“You didn’t really think I was just going to let you go home, did you?”

Hehehe.

Ashley didn’t look frightened.

Only confused.

“So... you’re going to kidnap me?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“You’re going to take me away from my father and bring me back to your place?”

Ada gave her a strange look.

“Girl, you actually want to go home with him?”

Luke told Luis to focus on driving instead of lurking nearby listening to gossip, then sat down across from Ashley.

He reached out and touched her forehead.

“No fever... so what’s wrong with you?”

Ashley caught Luke’s hand.

“If that’s what you mean, I can call my dad and tell him I’m staying at your place for a few days. He’d probably be happy about it. Anything’s better than staying home while everyone pressures me to get married!”

Ada gave a soft hum and settled even more comfortably into her seat.

Well, she couldn’t say she hadn’t warned the girl.

Luis might have been steering the boat, but his ears had been tuned into the entire conversation.

“Damn, look at this guy’s luck with women. Sounds like the place I’m headed won’t be boring at all. I’ll have front-row seats to this kind of drama every day!”

Only Bruce remained curled up inside the boat, gently wagging his tail.