I was too exhausted to run any further, so I waited right where I was. After a while, Ares returned, his head hung low. I asked, “Didn''t catch up?”


    Ares shook his head and replied, his voice deep, “No…”


    I asked again, “What happened, then?”


    Ares sighed, “I reached the intersection ahead but didn''t know which direction to go. So I stood there for three minutes, thinking, and then decided to come back…”


    I couldn’t help but curse under my breath, “Are you kidding me?! You didn''t know which direction to go, so you just stood there thinking for three minutes?” I was absolutely frustrated with him.


    Ares, shaking his head, asked, “So, what happened after you left that day?”


    I didn’t answer directly. Instead, I countered with, “You said you could cure the poison?!”


    Ares replied, “Yeah, I leveled up to level 5 and got a new skill. It''s called… come closer, don’t let anyone hear…” I was speechless. From a radius of three miles, it seemed like the only things around us were zombies—if there were any. Who exactly was he worried about hearing? But I still leaned in.


    Ares whispered, “The skill is called… ‘Exorcise (Light): Active, Blessing-type skill. Level 3. Effect: Exorcises toxins and curses from a designated target, consumes one Evolution Seed, and permanently increases all base attributes of the user by 10%. Release time: 5 seconds, cooldown time: 11 days. During the day, the effect increases by 8%, but is halved at night.”


    “It uses one Evolution Seed…” I muttered.


    Ares reassured me, “Don''t worry, George. Yesterday, I killed a zombie that was spitting ice cubes. It was so weird! After I killed it, an Evolution Seed flew out of its body! Now, while it’s still noon, we should take advantage of it!” Ares struck a rather flamboyant pose, pointing to the sky. His expression turned serious as a beam of light descended from above, growing brighter. Suddenly, a small orb of light flew out of Ares'' body, bursting with a pop and scattering like stars, landing back onto Ares. The light around him intensified. He then pointed at me and softly uttered, “Exorcise.”


    The light beamed from Ares''finger and washed over me. I felt the weakness in my body quickly fade. When the light faded, I looked at my arm… No wrinkles!


    Ares grinned and said, “This skill really works. Now we don''t need to worry about getting bitten by a zombie anymore…”


    That night, Ares and I were sitting inside the supermarket. I was telling him about the events that had happened over the last two days when, suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the door.


    I quickly ran to open it… It was Sophie! Sophie had blood on the corner of her mouth and shoved a small box into my hands before collapsing into my arms…


    “What the hell!! George, what''s going on?!!” Ares asked warily, his eyes fixed on the door.


    I held Sophie in my arms, my mind racing. “We need to leave! It might not be safe here anymore.”


    Ares nodded and said, “Follow me! I found a car nearby yesterday that we can use. Let''s drive out of here!”


    I paused, “Ares, can you drive? Since when?”


    Ares didn''t respond. Instead, he strutted out the door, his hips swaying in that characteristic, over-the-top manner—he really had a flair for it. I followed him, still carrying Sophie. After about three minutes, we left the commercial district. The road ahead seemed less chaotic. Ares opened the door to a red jeep parked on the side of the road and climbed in. I laid Sophie in the backseat and sat in the passenger seat. I couldn''t help but nervously ask, “Ares, are you sure you can handle this?”


    To my surprise, Ares was suddenly very serious. He raised a finger, shook it at me, and said with deep conviction, “A man can never say he can''t do it!”


    What I didn''t know was that, at the same time, two figures had appeared outside the supermarket where we were hiding. One of the men asked, “Jesse, how''s it looking?”


    A woman''s voice responded, “Duke, there''s a life force fluctuation three miles ahead.”


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The man snorted coldly and said, “Kill Sophie, the Evolution Seed inside her belongs to you. And that little brat who stabbed me, I''m going to make him wish he were never born, but never died!” He took a few steps forward, and in the light of the supermarket, I was stunned to see none other than Duke!


    I still hadn''t realized the imminent danger, and instead, I looked at Sophie, still unconscious in the backseat, and asked Ares, “Ares, you''ve been fiddling with the car for nearly two minutes now. Do you even know how to start it?”


    Ares suddenly panicked and said, “Of course I know! I started it just yesterday… Damn it! I did it yesterday... Why isn''t it working now?"…?”


    I froze! What?! This guy didn’t even know which way to turn the key?! At this rate, getting into a zombie horde would be safer than relying on him to drive! I was about to get out of the car, but as I turned my head, I caught sight in the rearview mirror of two figures rapidly approaching. I hissed, “Ares!! Hurry! Someone''s coming!”


    But Ares had fallen back into his usual clumsiness, trembling with panic. I sighed, thinking, “This time, he''s going to mess up at the crucial moment.” But to my surprise, Ares’ trembling didn''t end in disaster; the car actually started!


    What the hell? Is this even possible?!


    Ares was clearly anxious now. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and, almost crying, said, “It''s over! George, the car''s broken! It won''t move, no matter how hard I press the pedal!”


    I was nearly in tears too. I said, “Ares, we haven''t even put it in gear yet…”


    Ares finally realized what he’d missed. He somehow knew how to put the car into gear, slammed it into first, and floored the gas pedal. The car jerked and sputtered. Bang! Bang! The engine almost stalled, but it didn''t!


    My heart was pounding like crazy, and I couldn''t help but shout, “Ares! Come on, you can do this!”


    But with the car in first gear, how fast could we really go? The two figures were closing in, running faster than humanly possible, and I was on the edge of panic. I yelled, “Ares, they''re almost here!!”


    Ares, just as frantic, yelled, “Damn it!!”


    Then, to my astonishment, Ares did something I hadn''t expected—he shifted gears! This guy actually knew how to shift?! He moved to second gear, slammed his foot down on the gas again… But one of the figures, seeming to defy all logic, Duke leaped and landed on the hood of the car with inhuman agility, blocking our way.


    I froze! It''s Duke!! I screamed, “Ares! Run him over!!”


    Ares, looking as if he''d seen the killer of his father, let out a scream like a horror movie victim and floored the gas pedal again…


    But even at full throttle, the car was only moving at a speed of forty or fifty miles per hour. Ares, in a frenzy, quickly shifted gears again and slammed his foot down on the pedal, driving even faster toward Duke.


    How could Duke perform such an amazing front flip?! Is he some kind of martial arts master? I didn''t believe that at seventy miles per hour, he wouldn''t die if I ran him over.


    With this confidence in my mind, I calmly watched as the distance between us and Duke closed to less than two meters. A smirk crept onto my face. It seemed that Ares understood too, and with a certain ease, he casually Ares smirked defiantly at Duke through the window. But then, something shocking happened, and we both stared in disbelief.


    Duke, with incredible speed, placed both hands on the hood of the car. The car slowed down significantly!


    “What the hell?!”


    “Damn it!”


    Both Ares and I cursed at the same time. Sweat was dripping down our backs as we wondered what kind of martial art Duke was using. I looked into the rearview mirror and saw the figures still closing in on us. I shouted, “Ares! Speed up! I don''t believe we can’t run him over!”


    Ares, clearly stunned by what he''d just witnessed, snapped out of his daze after hearing my yell.  He quickly shifted gears and slammed the gas pedal again, increasing the car''s speed. Duke was being pushed backward by the car. Suddenly, he looked up at us, his cold eyes meeting mine, and he said, “You... can''t escape.”


    What the hell? He couldn''t even be shaken off! Panicked, I looked around for something and found it— a bright flashlight. I pointed it straight at Duke, switching it on. The light blinded him, and he lowered his head. But just as I thought it was working, he suddenly vanished.


    I jumped by surprise, thinking, What kind of martial art is this?!


    Then, through the rearview mirror, I saw Duke, seemingly unscathed, pushing himself up from the ground! Apparently, he''d been tripped by something and had gone under the car. The other figure that had been chasing us stood next to the Duke. Neither of them came after us again. Ares and I finally let out a sigh of relief.


    Behind us…


    The woman asked, “Duke, aren''t we going to chase them anymore?”


    Duke squinted at the rapidly retreating car and muttered, “Next time, you won''t be so lucky! You''d better leave the Evolution Seed for me... Let''s go back. I heard the rescue team found another Chosen One. We''ll go back and secretly kill them. The Evolution Seed will belong to you.”


    “Thank you, Duke.” The woman''s voice was filled with joy, and the two of them walked off into the distance.


    “Damn it, Ares! That was so close! I didn''t know you had this skill.” I slumped back in my seat, breathing heavily.


    Ares, also panting, gave me a disdainful glance and arrogantly said, “You only just realized how amazing I am? Let me tell you, I''m not just good at driving…”


    Before he could finish, my eyes widened, and I looked ahead, my pupils shrinking. I shouted, “Ares! Brake! Now!!”


    But it was too late.


    “Crash!” The car crashed into a building up ahead.


    My dizzy head spun, and I could still hear Ares'' earlier words echoing in my mind: “You only just realized how amazing I? Let me tell you, I''m not just good at driving…”


    “Yeah, you''re not just good at driving, you''re also great at crashing cars…” I muttered under my breath.