Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 148: We are a Party!

After passing out in Angelica's arms, Zane once more found himself in the dark and dreary word, one that was completely devoid of color and instead was black and white. And yet again his head was lying in the lap of a woman whose face he could not see, but who felt so familiar to him.

There was an almost displeased look on the woman's lips, which were hidden beneath a sheer veil. And as Zane awoke in her lap, she flicked him in the head with her long and slender index finger.

"My oh my… Aren't you the reckless child... You know I had not considered the fact that when I warned you of the danger you were in, you would go out and do something so incredibly stupid, like challenging a Juggernaut.

Sure you have the ability to take on multiple Stalkers, but you do realize there is a significant level difference between you and a Juggernaut, correct? If you wanted to take one down now with your current strength, you would need an entire party of similarly leveled and equipped survivors to do so, and even then your chances of surviving without casualties are not large.

But luckily for you, you appear to have accomplished your goal…. With the loot you obtained, you should be able to purchase the Stygian Iron Works and thus enhance the capabilities of that pink haired girl who clings to your side…"

There was almost a hint of disapproval in the woman's tone when she said that last part. Or was it perhaps jealousy? Nah, he must be imagining things, or so Zane thought. And thus he was quick to dismiss it entirely, and instead ask a question to the mysterious stranger who kept aiding him.

"How do you know about all of this? Are you awakened as well? Don't tell me you're a higher level than me? That shouldn't be possible!"

There were very good reasons why Zane believed he was the highest level among all survivors in this world. After all, the Unique Skill he received was specifically because he was the first human being to awaken the system, and the powers that came with it.

He had also been tirelessly leveling up since the apocalypse began, and had significant advantages that allowed him to progress more quickly than other survivors. Hell, the only reason the girls by his side were even close to his level was because he was an absolute tyrant and forced them to undergo long periods of corruption while they rested in the safety of the bunker at night.

Most survivors had to be more cautious about where and when they chose to consume a blood crystal, and some were downright hesitant to do so at all, simply because of how debilitating the process was.

Because of this, Zane suspected that he was 3x the level of the highest level survivors aside from the girls in his group. And he would be right to assume so. The average level of an awakened survivor across the globe was only around level three at the moment. There were a small few who were level five, and even fewer above that.

But Zane was without a doubt the highest level awakened survivor at the moment. Though if he became complacent, this might not be the case for long. After all, he had forsaken, leveling for the time being to get him and his girls properly equipped. If this process took too long, rivals might appear within humanity.

But while Zane was thinking all of this, the mysterious stranger appeared to be pondering how much she should reveal to Zane, and ultimately sighed heavily and shook her head before refusing to elaborate beyond what she had already told him.

"All you need to know for the time being is that I am a friend, and that I have your best interests in mind. Besides, your body should be fully healed now, and your party members are worried sick about you. I think it's about time you wake up my friend…"

After saying this the Mysterious stranger pet Zane's hair, her skin was cold, perhaps even colder than Zane's, yet Zane felt nothing but warmth as he awoke to find himself surrounded by the girls in his party, all of which were crying over him.

When Zane opened his eyes, the tears finally stopped streaming, and instead he received hugs and kisses from all of them, including Madison, who was still crying, completely unaware that Zane had woken up.

"You can't leave me all alone in this world, you miserable bastard! Who's going to take this collar off of me if you die?"

Zane felt awfully embarrassed being surrounded by so many crying woman, and felt the need to straighten things up.

"Why are you all crying? It's not like I'm dead or anything?"

Elena, of course, had the urge to throttle Zane after hearing such a shameless comment. She grabbed hold of his cloak and began to shake him while screaming at him at the same time.

"You little prick! Do you think this is funny!?! I mean, what were you thinking? Going out on your own at night to fight the undead by yourself! I bet you went back to Reno, didn't you? You crazy bastard!"

Zane did not know how to respond to these questions because he was exactly guilty of what she had said. Instead, he simply leaned forward and kissed the woman, assuring her he was alright, and that there was nothing to worry about.

"You can relax… I'm perfectly fine… With Angelica by my side, you never need to be worried!"

This of course only caused Elena to pout, but before she could speak up again, Olivia lectured Zane by flicking him on the head, much in the same way the mysterious stranger had done in his dream, before lecturing him with an almost motherly tone in her voice.

"Listen here Zane, we are a party! That means we work together and have each other's backs! You can't just keep going out on your own at night, you damn near got yourself killed! From now on it is all of us together, or not at all, understand?"

Zane could clearly see that all of the women in his party had united against him, and had put their feet down. Because of this, he could only sigh, shake his head, and accept their conditions.

"Alright… Fine… I promise…."