Madison was nervous. These people were, after all, murderers, and apparently slavers, as well as she now had a shock collar tied to her neck. But she knew that if she did resist their interrogation, she would most definitely be in pain again.
Thus, she stumbled over her words as she properly introduced herself to the group.
"M... Madison... My name is Madison... Madison Harrison..."
Zane nodded his head silently as an acknowledgement of the girl's identity before asking his next question.
"So Madison... What skill did you awaken?"
Madison was nervous. She knew very little about this skill, or the system that seemed to be constantly in the back of her mind. But these people seemed to know what all of this meant and thus she answered the question, hoping they would be able to answer some of her.
"It says I awakened an uncommon skill called Force-Field Generation.... I can apply force fields to myself or others. I just don't know what that means..."
Zane was a little bit surprised by this... Combined, their team was starting to balance out well. They had Olivia who could deal massive damage with her electric discharge, Angelica who could heal anyone who was injured, and Elena who could stop time providing some much needed control to the team.
Meanwhile, Zane's own skill had evolved to the point where he could deal repeated damage to enemies, rather than rely on cooldowns. And though he had yet to discover the full extent of his current powers, Zane suspected his blood manipulation was not as powerful as Olivia's Electric Discharge.
Now they had someone who could provide some much needed defense, something that would come in handy when dealing with Abominations, which until now they had been avoiding like the plague. With this knowledge, Zane spoke to the girl, reminding her of who she belonged to while letting her know her skill was useful to the team.
"Of course! Now, we just have a few more questions. There's nothing to be afraid of. We just need to know how capable you are."
Madison calmed herself. She had been through a lot today, and honestly wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up. But still, she found the courage to speak to Zane and answer his questions as she stepped away from Angelica's side.
"Okay... Ask away... There's not really much of a point resisting, now is there?"
Zane didn't make a movement, or any expression, instead he simply asked his questions which were about Madison's attributes. He was horrified to find how utterly useless the girl was, and was quick to surrender the blood crystals they currently had in an attempt to get the girl up to the bare minimum standard.
Madison would spend the night in agonizing pain as she went through the corruption process for the second time. However, when she awoke, she would be at the same level as Angelica, which was level four.
But that was a story for another time. After all, for the first time since the beginning of the apocalypse, Zane and the others had found a place which was perfectly safe and stocked full of supplies.
If not for the ever evolving threat of the undead, they could simply stay in this bunker for a lifetime, and never have to worry about re-emerging. But as long as the undead continued to evolve, there was no telling whether this bunker would withstand the rising tide.
And because of this, Zane began to devise a plan to begin clearing out and fortifying the wealthy neighborhood where the Governor's estate existed. Looting the blood crystals and helping himself and the girls level up in the process.
He would ultimately go to sleep later that night, after celebrating with the girls by sharing some drinks and a nice home cooked meal. After which he would retire to the largest bedroom in the bunker, where Olivia would join him. Leaving both Angelica and Elean to continue the party on their own.
The two women would get quite intoxicated over the alcohol they consumed, and in their drunken state, a conversation would be had that would forever change the dynamic of their party. One which Elena would be the cause of.