Chapter 28 Stumpy
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She watched their movements closely through the cameras, ready to strike the moment they crossed into her territory. But instead of pushing forward, they did nothing but hunt zombies.
By the roadside, they deliberately drew every nearby zombie over, wiped them out, then opened the rear doors of their vehicles and released a pack of dogs.
Iris could not make out their faces or what they were wearing. All she had to go on were the heat signatures on the infrared
scanner.
One thing, however, was crystal clear. They really had let loose a whole pack of dogs.
After that, the group seemed to argue for a moment. But it did not last long.
Everyone got back into the vehicles and drove off, leaving the dogs behind.
The dogs watched the vehicles pull away, then broke into a full sprint after them.
On Iris‘ infrared feed, both the vehicles and the running dogs headed toward the city.
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A flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
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<Chapter 28 Stumpy
What were they up to?
Early the next morning, Iris got up as usual and warmed up.
Even without system rewards, a routine was still a routine.
Just as she was about to jog along the edge of her territory, the surveillance system sounded the alarm again.
This time, Iris linked her phone to the computer so she could view all the feeds on the screen in her hand.
The moment she checked, she saw a group of dogs on the road outside the bunker.
There were about 14 or 15 of them.
Every single one wore a uniform.
The dogs ran to the exact spot where Iris had seen that strange scene the day before and came to a halt.
They paced in circles, as if waiting for their owners to return.
At the same time, a public broadcast message came through on her phone.
“Beep–Aster City rescue operation has begun. Rescue vehicles are entering Aster City. All survivors, please proceed to the 2/7
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following assembly points immediately.”
The moment Iris heard that, everything clicked.
The people who had passed by her gate yesterday had been a
rescue team.
And those had been their dogs.
Iris drove her car to the outer edge of her base.
By then, the main road outside had been completely cleared of zombies. For once, the area was quiet and safe.
A group of dogs stood guard at the road leading to Iris‘ territory, all of them staring in the direction of the city.
They were in bad shape. Almost every one of them was injured.
Some had claw marks, others bite wounds. Scratches across their bellies were common, and their ears and tails were torn and ragged.
One dog was hurt the worst. Both of its hind legs had been mauled, flesh ripped open, and bone half exposed and smeared with blood. It could barely be called limping. It moved almost entirely on its front legs, dragging the ruined bones behind it as it followed the pack, eyes fixed longingly toward the city.
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Iris got out of the car. The moment she saw the condition of all
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15 dogs, she knew what had happened. They must have chased the vehicles into the city last night and run straight into
swarms of zombies.
Clearly, they never found their owners.
They had been trapped in grave danger, waited in vain for their owners to come back, and after fighting for their lives, they finally made their way back here.
And now, they were still waiting.
“In times like these, no one really has a choice,” Iris said softly. “Since you ran into me, you might as well tag along.”
After bandaging all of them, she focused especially on the one that was barely hanging on.
Gritting her teeth, Iris redeemed the First Aid Injector from the system shop.
“Listen up, Stumpy,” she muttered, “you better remember this favor. This stuff cost me 20 points. From here on out, you stay loyal, got it? I’m not the type to leave you high and dry.”
She kept talking under her breath while carefully wrapping the dog’s wounds.
The dog lying on the ground seemed to understand her. Its 4/7
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eyes, almost human in their clarity, stayed fixed on her face,
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unblinking.
After Iris finished bandaging the dogs, she brought out fresh beef and raw bones.
It was all good stuff.
The dogs‘ eyes lit up at the sight of the food. They pawed at the ground in excitement, yet none of them rushed forward.
“Go on,” Iris said. “It’s all for you.”
Only then did they move in and start eating, tearing into the meat with big, desperate bites.
One look at the way they ate told her they had been starving for a long time.
Even so, they did not finish everything. Every dog deliberately left some behind. After eating, they picked up the remaining meat in their mouths and turned to run toward the gate.
Iris was floored.
“Woof!” Seeing them try to leave right after eating, Summer charged over and barked fiercely at them.
After the system enhancement, Summer was twice the size of
an ordinary dog, with claws and fangs far sharper than theirs. 5/7
As presence was overwhelming.
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< Chapter 28 Stumpy
Intimidated by Summer’s presence, the military dogs huddled together and stood their ground.
Iris shook her head at the scene. She walked over to Summer’s
side and said, “Let them go.”
“Woof, woof!” Summer barked in protest, as if complaining that these ungrateful dogs had eaten her food and were running off.
“A good dog isn’t kept by force.”
Iris rubbed Summer’s head, opened the gate, and let the dogs
- go.
The moment the gate opened, the dogs glanced back at Iris with clear gratitude before sprinting away.
Even the dog Iris had spent points to save carried a solid piece of beef in its mouth and left with the others.
Before going, it circled Iris once, then dragged its injured legs, limping after the group.
Iris pulled an electric scooter out of her storage and followed them with Summer.
The dogs returned to the very place where they had been abandoned.
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Once there, they placed the meat on the ground and let out low, mournful whines toward the city, pacing in circles.
They were still looking for their owners.
The moment they had gotten their hands on some food, their first thought was of their former masters.
Even though they were starving, they had saved a share for their humans.
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ir Gifts
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
