ANGELS IN THE ARMAGEDDON

Chapter 4: The Coming of Doomsday

The city's streets were as bustling as ever, with vehicles and crowds weaving through the urban grid, providing the city with a constant pulse of life. Once a mundane scene, it had now become fragmented memories.

"How nostalgic..."

A young girl stood by her bike, gazing around every corner within her sight. Despite her youthful face, there was an inexplicable sense of weariness. Her presence seemed to cause some inconvenience to others.

"Beep beep—beep—"

A short, urgent honk behind him jolted the girl from her reverie. The traffic light ahead had already turned green. With an embarrassed smile, she hurriedly twisted the throttle, speeding her electric scooter through the intersection, allowing the blocked traffic to flow once more.

The girl was none other than Quinn.

Due to a recent incident at home involving some local thugs trampling her long hair with muddy feet, Quinn had to resort to wearing the only black wig in her colorful collection. With black contact lenses and a chest binder, she still bore a seven to eight resemblance to her former self. Anyone familiar would recognize her at a glance.

As for the conspicuous black collar, Quinn had activated its 'hidden' function. She finally understood why there were no reports of 'angels' wearing collars in her previous life. The only flaw was the persistent feeling of restraint around her neck.

It seems the collar had merely become 'invisible' but hadn't disappeared.

Quinn, somewhat unfamiliar with controlling the electric scooter, inevitably swayed a bit. After all, she hadn't used such a vehicle in over two years. Slow and lacking in protection, such means of transport were quickly abandoned in the face of small zombie hordes.

However, Quinn was confident in her ability to drive the military Humvee（High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle） and heavy-duty pickup trucks. In the apocalypse, drivers of such mainstream vehicles were highly sought after by all factions, as they were crucial to survival during supply runs.

The apocalypse truly exemplified what it meant to...

After finally finding a vacant parking spot for her scooter, Quinn was surprised by the popularity of the newly built shopping mall on the site of the old central supermarket, despite it being the holiday season. However, it made sense; the mall's novelty hadn't worn off yet, attracting many aimless wanderers but few serious shoppers.

The shopping mall had five floors. Though not particularly tall, it covered a large area compared to the surrounding buildings, making it one of the largest in this newly developing small county.

The first floor was mostly dining establishments, packed with lunchtime customers. The second floor featured jewelry and clothing stores, while the third floor housed various supermarket branches.

Quinn quickly identified her target: the second floor!

She glanced at the escalator leading upward, confirming her position. Compared to the clothing stores, the jewelry shop was much smaller, located in the southern part of the mall.

Pretending to browse, Quinn loitered near the jewelry store, scanning the sales clerks at each counter. She first ruled out the jade and diamond sections, since 'Angel-Hunter Armory' only accepted gold and silver in exchange for rare metals.

It seems the tempered glass... would require a key. Quinn doubted she could smash through the glass with just her ornate katana, at least not yet.

Her eyes roamed around until she spotted her target: a key with numbered tags hanging from a sales clerk's belt. The number on the counter indicated it was the key to unlock it.

Everything was set. Quinn glanced at her phone—8:00.

It was still summer, and the sky had just begun to darken. Streetlights on both sides of the road lit up early, with neon signs adorning storefronts. Quinn took one last lingering look before tearing her gaze away.

All he needed to do now was wait.

Returning to the first floor, Quinn found a quiet café, ordered a milky tea, and sat down, surveying Times Square with a nostalgic look. Although mundane, Quinn found a strange enjoyment in it, knowing that this ordinary scene could turn into hell at any moment, maybe the next minute, maybe the next second...

"Quinn!"

Suddenly, someone patted her shoulder without warning. The instinctive alertness that surged from her heart hadn't even reached her brain before her body reacted. Her elbow was already raised, a reflexive action. When Quinn saw who he was, she forced herself to stop.

"!!!"

"Lloyd! What are you doing here?"

Unsealed memories resurfaced as Quinn recalled the boy named Lloyd. He was a classmate and coworker at the courier company during the summer, one of Quinn's few friends. Lloyd was a little bit kind-hearted.

Quinn was shocked to see Lloyd there. If her memory served her right, Lloyd should have been working in the southern suburbs with Hana, maintaining their post until the military took them to the human base in SL City after the apocalypse began.

Could it be they hadn't gone there yet?

"Huh? Your voice... well... Don't ask what I'm doing here; think about what you should be doing first..." Lloyd smiled mischievously, saying something that confused Quinn.

Seeing Quinn's puzzled expression, Lloyd grinned and stepped aside, revealing a figure not far behind him.

When Quinn met the gaze of that person, a mix of indifference and slight anger, she inwardly sighed: damn...

"Hana, you're all here..."

Quinn smiled bitterly, never expecting to meet Hana there. Having called in sick yesterday, she was now caught red-handed at the shopping mall, making it hard to avoid misunderstandings.

Hana didn't respond, only nodded silently. In her hands was a newly wrapped gift for a fruitbasket. Quinn realized why their actions hadn't followed the previous life's script.

"Hana delegated her tasks to another team. Quinn, you really messed up this time. We planned to visit you, but here you are."

Lloyd babbled, taking Quinn's milk tea without noticing the change in Quinn's expression. At this moment, Quinn's mind was in turmoil.

Originally, Hana and Lloyd had gone to the southern suburbs and survived. But now, due to Quinn's oversight, they were here, introducing unpredictable variables.

This was the city center, the most crowded area, a hot spot for zombie outbreaks. Nearly half of the county's 200,000 people were concentrated here, and the largest hospital was nearby. The city center would become a disaster zone as soon as the apocalypse hit.

In contrast, the southern suburbs were sparsely populated, separated from the main city by a large river, and more importantly, the county's armed forces were stationed there.

Watching the clock on the wall tick away, Quinn's heart sank. The apocalypse could start at any moment...

"Quinn..." Hana finally spoke, breaking the silence. Lloyd, who had been babbling, also fell silent, waiting for Hana's words. His previous chatter had been an attempt to buy Quinn time to think.

"I know you're not the only one who does this, Quinn. It's your first time, and the team covered your workload, so let's put this behind us..." Hana simply thought Quinn had been slacking off.

"We're here to take on a few delivery tasks nearby. Your uniform is in my car's trunk. For now, just change into it..."

"Hana... go to the southern suburbs..."

"What?"

Hana frowned at Quinn's sudden remark. "Quinn, the tasks here are few. Maybe you have personal matters in the southern suburbs, but..."

"Wait, Hana!" Quinn had made up his mind. The jewelry store wasn't going anywhere, but Hana and Lloyd had come here because of him. Quinn valued the people around him more, especially after two years of apocalyptic experience.

"Let's take all the tasks in the southern suburbs. Call the higher-ups and hand over these tasks now."

"Quinn... what's wrong with you?" Lloyd sensed something off about his friend.

"Go to the southern suburbs, now!"

"Quinn..."

Facing their puzzled gazes, Quinn finally exhaled, showing a determined expression. "Because..."

"Boom!!!"

A deafening crash echoed through the shopping mall. A runaway truck smashed through the glass and walls, barreling inside. Those in its path had no time to escape, crushed in an instant. Blood and limbs splattered across the polished tiles. Screams shattered the air, and panic spread throughout the mall as people fled in terror.

The truck, its rampage short-lived, toppled over, exploding into flames. And this was just the beginning.

Not only in the mall, but screeching tires and collisions also filled the streets. Crashed vehicles and dismembered bodies were everywhere. The city's nerves were shattered in an instant.

"It has... begun..."

Ignoring the stunned expressions of the two beside her, Quinn's gaze swept over the c*****e on the street, murmuring words only she could hear.

The apocalypse had begun.