The Daily Intelligence Alert popped up at the very moment he was done inspecting the girlfriend stats.
Ethan knew for sure that some very useful information would come, but in his mind, he was hoping that something really crazy wouldn't be part of it.
[Daily Intelligence Alert!]
[Day 0005:
— Over 25 zombies have evolved into Level 4 zombies. 380 zombies have evolved into Level 3 zombies. 1210 zombies have evolved into Level 2 zombies.
— Evolution Rate Manifestation has begun occurring. Level 4 zombies can now use objects to break through entrances or even attack. Speed and Attack Power enhanced.
— 3 percent of survivors on campus died while hiding silently. Causes of death are dehydration and panic induced exposure.
— A helicopter would make a quick, final inspection on the entire campus by 5 PM today. If no sign of life is sensed, New Land University would be completely abandoned.
— At noon, one survivor would kill another survivor over canned food in the Hostel B basement. Angered, another survivor would kill that survivor.
— At 11:49, Nina and Miss Audrey would be raped and killed, being fed to the monsters at the Physical Health Centre area.
[Normal Mission 5: Make sure no girl dies, and get them out of The Boss's base. You know what to do.]
[Rewards: +50 Boyfriend Credits. +5 Intelligence. +5 Strength. +5 Charm. +3 Stamina. +3 Agility.]
Sure, there were many significant pieces of information here, but only one had understandably captured his mind.
'Nina? Nina is here... Why would...'
He paused at once and stood up, giving a quick glance around.
He soon noticed that the exact figure he was trying to locate wasn't around, and that made Ethan flinch at once.
"Where is Nina?" Ethan asked.
Helen, who was already awake, stood up and glanced around as well.
"Nina? Haven't seen her since morning. She might be in the research room or something," she said.
Ethan shook his head in doubt as he quickly rushed to the research room. And as expected, there was no trace of Nina there.
Every room on the top floor was searched thoroughly, but he still couldn't locate any sign of her.
Helen had to wake Anna, Gracie, Mella, and Eva, informing them about Nina's disappearance as they all began their searches.
They went as far as going through every room in the Lecturer's Lodge, all they spotted were ruins and zombies.
No trace of life... No sign of Nina.
It was at this point that Ethan understood.
She had definitely gone for The Boss, and that was why she would get herself into trouble, as stated by the system's info.
(9:45 AM).
It was already less than three hours before 11:49 PM. Ethan didn't want to fail the mission.
"We have to find her," he heaved a long sigh and said.
"Why? She might have just decided to leave. Maybe she's tired of staying with us," Mella said.
"That's right, Mella. She might have lied that there's no way out. Maybe she wants us to die in here just because her brother did," Helen added, the look on her face showing that she meant every word she was letting out.
"No..."
A single response from Ethan died their alarms as they looked up.
"I know where she is," he added.
He walked into the room and grabbed his baseball bat. He took his axe and short knife as well. One had to be well armed when going out there, especially now, when the number of those monsters was increasing rapidly.
"You all should wait here. I will be back before you know it," Ethan said as he attempted to leave.
"To where, Ethan?" Anna immediately stepped in his way.
"Don't tell me you are going out there to look for her alone? Because it's most likely that she has gone to face those rascals. You are going to get yourself into trouble if you go alone, Ethan..."
"I have told you not to worry about me, Anna. I will be fine, okay?"
"No, I won't stop worrying. You are the only confirmed family I have now, Ethan. We don't even know if our family is still alive out there. I can't lose you, Ethan... Not now," Anna said, the sincerity gleaming sharp in her eyes.
"Let's do this together, under your command. We are going to save those innocent people together," she added.
Ethan felt the sincerity in her voice, but he already knew that this was nothing more than the friendly love she had for him.
He respected it though, but he wished there was more to that.
That aside, Ethan also knew that doing it alone wouldn't be an easy task. He only needed common sense to understand that.
Not having any other choice, he nodded.
"Okay. We are all going together, but... under my command," Ethan said.
"Why under your command? Those guys have guns, and what do we have? Knives? We are going to crawl into our own death," Helen objected.
Ethan glared, but he somehow didn't find her response offensive. Judging by her perspective and the facts, she was right because there was no way they could stand against enemies armed with guns when they didn't have one.
After a moment, Ethan replied.
"We'll find a way."
"A way? That doesn't make it clear. We are going to die out there. We can't take on The Boss and his boys with these knives!"
Helen was beginning to get furious, but there was no way Ethan wasn't going to calm her down.
He had to show her that he knew what he was doing.
"Who said anything about facing them with knives?" he asked.
Helen furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Huh?"
And with a sharp sigh, Ethan took the lead through the door.
"The knives. Keep them for the monsters. When we get to The Boss and his men, we face them with what they've got."
Amazed and curious, the rest of them followed at once. And with a faint shrug, Helen joined them as well.
In the hallway that led to the Physical Health Centre's gymnasium, an interesting scene was unfolding.
Nina charged at full speed, launching her knees against the two figures at once.
Her strikes came with a big impact, sending them to fall a few distance away from their stance.
They both didn't need another strike to get knocked out, as they failed to get on their feet again.
With a wry smile, Nina dusted her hands and headed for the door.
But then...
"Hey! Freeze!"
A sudden aggressive voice sounded from behind, and Nina halted at once.
"If you move, I won't hesitate to blow your brain!"
And of course, that particular line gave her every reason to obey, even though this might risk the success of her mission here.
And swiftly, the aggressive voice behind sounded again.
"Boss! We have a guest!"