Hertha had always taken pride in her beauty, especially her long, jet-black hair, which she meticulously cared for.

Now, having been forcibly shaved bald, she was furious. When Jemmy mocked her, she immediately lost her temper and jumped up, shouting: "Shut your filthy mouth!"

Jemmy just grinned, completely unbothered.

Now that they had reached the official rescue point and were surrounded by soldiers, he felt an unprecedented sense of safety.

The soldiers at the door smirked, clearly enjoying the conflict.

Hertha, growing even angrier, stormed up to one of the soldiers and snapped: "You people are too much! I want to file a complaint against you!"

The soldier immediately raised his rifle, aiming it at Hertha, and barked: "Go back! Sit down! Wait in your spot for work assignments. This is your first warning. Three warnings, and you'll be executed!"

Executed? Who are they trying to scare? Hertha was livid.

She had struggled through countless dangers to reach this official rescue point. Upon arrival, she was met with armed soldiers pointing guns at her, forcibly marched into the base, hosed down like livestock, and then humiliated with a forced head shave.

Raised in comfort and privilege, Hertha had never endured such humiliation in her life!

Even during their journey, though Teresa Taylor had been tough, she was at least reasonable.

But now, Hertha's emotions had reached their breaking point. She raised her voice, lashing out: "Executed?! You think you can scare me?! If you've got the guts, shoot me in the head! I want to sleep! I want food! I want to rest! I'm a student, and I demand special treatment!"

Click.

The soldier disengaged the safety on his rifle and said coldly: "This is your second warning. Go back and sit down!"

Zack Torres, sensing the gravity of the situation, began to feel uneasy.

Having spent years navigating the harsh realities of life, his instincts told him the soldier wasn't bluffing. He quickly stood up and said: "Hertha, come back!"

Of course, Zack Torres didn't believe the soldier would actually shoot.

But antagonizing the military could lead to trouble later, maybe even a beating. Why risk it?

Zack Torres, who harbored feelings for Hertha, had been looking out for her throughout the journey.

Hertha, being a student at the New York Film Academy, was naturally stunning. Before the mist, someone like Zack, an average, working-class man, wouldn't have dared dream of being with someone like her.

But now, everything had changed. As survivors, weren't they all the same?

During their journey, Zack had taken every opportunity to care for Hertha. Otherwise, how had she survived while all the other female survivors perished?

Hertha, however, looked at Zack disdainfully.

Naive men always ended up getting the short end of the stick.

She was fully aware of Zack's intentions. If they were still outside, she might have gone along with him.

But now that they were at a survivor base, Hertha no longer had any interest in Zack. She had already relegated him to her "backup" list.

"I've seen people bluff like this before! What's there to be afraid of?"

The soldier raised his rifle and aimed it directly at Hertha. "This is your third warning!"

Unfazed, Hertha taunted: "Go ahead, shoot me! Let everyone see how soldiers murder civilians!"

Bang!

The soldier didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.

A bullet pierced Hertha's forehead. Her eyes widened in shock as she fell backward.

Blood quickly pooled around her lifeless body.

Zack Torres froze in place, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. His voice trembled as he stammered: "H-how could they actually shoot..."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was utterly shocked.

The soldier remained emotionless, standing with his rifle still raised, watching them coldly.

Moments later, a military officer entered with a team of soldiers.

The officer glanced around the room, visibly irritated. "What happened here?"

The soldier calmly reported: "This woman violated the survivor management protocol. She was warned three times and failed to comply, so I executed her according to regulations."

"Damn it!" the officer cursed, kicking Hertha's corpse. "This idiot! Always making trouble for me! Get someone to clean this up before it stinks and attracts giant cockroaches. That would be even more of a headache!"

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, several workers in gray uniforms arrived.

Their expressions were numb, their faces pale and thin.

Under the soldiers' orders, the gray-clad workers wearily dragged Hertha's body away, cleaned up the blood, and wiped the floor.

Within minutes, all traces of Hertha—her blood, her corpse, even the bullet casing—were gone.

It was as if she had never existed.

Zack Torres's hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

Hertha, who had endured so much alongside Teresa Taylor to make it here, was just... gone?

Jemmy curled into a ball, overcome with regret.

If he had known, he would have stayed in the Sunshine Garden Apartments.

This damned place—executing someone over an argument?

After this incident, no one dared to complain anymore.

Everyone sat in terrified silence, afraid to even breathe too loudly.

The soldiers at the door simply stared at them coldly, their presence suffocating.

A short while later, a group of well-fed men in blue uniforms entered the room.

A tall man in blue surveyed the group and said, "I will call out names. When your name is called, report your occupation, education, skills, and any special talents. Do not lie. You will be assigned work according to your abilities. If we find out you lied, you will be executed immediately."

Executed again?! Everyone shuddered, inwardly despairing.

The man in blue called out: "Zhou Hao."

A young man at the front stood up timidly. "I... I used to deliver food. I studied civil engineering in college. No other skills."

The man in blue responded briskly: "You'll join the engineering team."

One by one, everyone was assigned their tasks.

Zack Torres was also sent to the engineering team.

Jemmy, with no useful skills beyond acting, was relegated to the janitorial crew.

Meanwhile, Teresa Taylor and Mike Brown were escorted into the underground base by the soldiers.

They entered through a different door, monitored by fully armed guards the entire time.

Eventually, they arrived in a spacious underground hall.

The only person in the room was a tall, thin man with a hooked nose.

Teresa Taylor noticed that, despite his casual stride, the man bore a brigadier general's insignia on his shoulders!

She immediately saluted.

The man waved dismissively and looked directly at her. "Teresa Taylor?"

Teresa Taylor nodded. "Yes, that's me."

She instinctively felt that this man wasn't a soldier. He seemed more like a civilian.

How had a civilian obtained the rank of brigadier general?

The man introduced himself: "I'm Elen Hawkins, an Alpha-class ability user. I'm here to assess your abilities for entry into the base. Olivia Brooks, what's her ability count?"

The seductive woman who had been with Teresa earlier swayed her hips as she stepped forward and said sweetly, "General Hawkins, she has two abilities. One is a self-enhancement ability, and the other is observation-related."

"As for the man, he has one ability—also observation-related. It seems to enhance his hearing."

Teresa Taylor and Mike Brown stared at Olivia in shock.

This woman could not only detect how many abilities they had but could also roughly discern their nature? That was incredible!

Elen Hawkins seemed equally impressed. "You have two abilities? Excellent! Perhaps we've found ourselves another Alpha-class ability user."

Teresa Taylor asked curiously, "What is an Alpha-class ability user?"

Elen Hawkins didn't hide anything and explained: "The base has categorized ability users. Those with one ability are Gamma-class. Two abilities make you Beta-class. Three or more make you Alpha-class. That is, if you pass my tests."

There are ability-enhancing fruits here? Teresa Taylor wondered and asked, "What does 'self-enhancement' mean?"