Chapter 144 I’m going to regret that for a very long time (that’s title, not dropping the novel or anything :D)

“Are we going to do it, then?” Nadia asked.

She had her arms crossed over her chest and a look of dissatisfaction mixed with exasperation on her face.

“Dear, I don’t think it’s the right time…” Mathew attempted to use the joke to diffuse the sudden tension that filled the atmosphere.

And Mathew’s attempt failed.

“This isn’t how I recall us thinking,” Nadia continued, taking a step forward and walking into a momentary middle of the group.

She then made a circle on her heel so that she could cast a disapproving glance at every last member of the group.

“What are you even talking about?” Norbert asked with a confused look behind his eyes.

He scratched the back of his ear as he looked at the girl, his eyes demanding an explanation.

“From what you guys said, I believe we need to save some people, don’t we?” Nadia asked, raising one of her eyebrows as her foot tapped against the floor. “Then why have your mood worsened?”

Nadia stood tall, her arms crossed over her chest.

And then she raised her eyebrow.

“Didn’t we fight against truly evolved zombies already?” she asked, looking down on everyone around her.

“That’s right,” Mathew whispered. He then brought his hands up and slapped his cheeks twice. “Seeing Daria getting injured really stuck with me,” Mathew raised his eyes and looked directly at Nadia’s face. “But it was all due to carelessness.”

It was that simple.

“Those red-eyed zombies are as hard to kill now as normal zombies were when it all started,” Mathew stated, looking at everyone in the group. “And ultimately, we will need cores to move the plan forward,” he added before shrugging his shoulders.

“Is that really it?” Nadia asked, her expression softening a little while a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes.

“There is also the fact that it’s no longer as easy to get back to the fortress,” Mathew pointed out. “In a sense, we are back to square one,” he then summed the situation out.

“It only makes sense, though,” Daniel said before heaving a sigh and shaking his head. “If we want to expand on what we have, we need to take the same risk as when we strove to establish it in the first place.”

The officer then shook his head again before turning his eyes on Nadia.

“You are correct, there is no use wasting time,” Daniel stated while resting his hands on his hips. “It might not matter in this new world,” he muttered, turning his head over his shoulder and glancing towards the window, “but I’m still a policeman.”

“Where exactly is the shed?” Leila asked. She took a few steps to the window only to glance at the building’s backyard swarmed with zombies. “I can’t see it from here,” she said as she turned around to face the rest of the group.

“I think it might be somewhere to the right of the building,” Mathew guessed while rubbing his chin. “That’s where the zombies came from when we rushed in,” he pointed out before turning his eyes to Norbert. “Am I right?”

“Right on point,” the policeman said as he smiled a little. “I’m sorry, though, but that’s all I can do to help,” he added while spreading his shoulders wide and shaking them. “For you, those red-eyed zombies are just like normal ones, but for me, they are way too strong.”

“That kinda makes sense,” Mathew nodded his head. ‘I can see his point,’ he thought before squinting his eyes. “What’s more, I don’t think we need to leave anyone with you, not with how you can see everything and move in advance, right?” he observed before raising his eyes back on Norbert’s face.

Norbert only gave Mathew a smug smile in response.

“Once we get back and if my ideas prove true,” Mathew stated, “I will look into ways of letting you get stronger,” he promised.

‘Maybe we didn’t see eye to eye just a short time ago, but I won’t be able to rely on them if I won’t make them stronger,’ Mathew thought, keeping a small, scheming smile on his face. Behind this smile, he hid his cold-blooded and calculated decisions.

“Well then, shall we go?” Leila asked, resting her hands on her hips as she tore her eyes from the window she kept glancing through. “It will be exhausting, there are quite a few of them,” she added in a serious tone.

“We all know this,” Mathew said, turning his smile into a more relaxed one. “But there is one benefit to fighting them here over doing so at the compound walls,” he added while a wicked smile appeared on his lips.

Mathew then turned on his heel and headed towards the doors.

“Here, they have no space to employ any tactical maneuvers,” the young man said, stopping a few steps away from the rest and turning his head over his shoulder. “In other words, with how crowded this place is, we can completely nullify the advantage of their numbers,” he stated before revealing a small, smug smirk and turning his head back.

Mathew then reached out and grabbed the handle of the doors, ready to leave the scene after his majestic play…

Only for the young man to freeze. He then slightly lowered his garb before slowly turning his head back towards the group.

“Excuse me, Norbert,” Mathew muttered, facing the policemen and the girls yet averting his eyes to avoid direct eye contact. “But which is the easiest way down?”

“So much of the grandeur moment,” Nadia giggled and raised her fist to hide her mouth.

“The easiest or the shortest?” Norbert asked, grinning openly and clearly refusing to let Mathew save his face. “The shortest would mean just jumping out of the window,” he stated before shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh,” Mathew muttered. “I’m going to regret that for a very long time,” he admitted, resigned to his fate.

This kind of slip-up was bound to stick for long.