Chapter 6

Soon, it was lunch time. Winona had always been a popular student in class. A lot of people wanted to eat with her at lunch. Today was no exception. A few students approached her and asked her to eat lunch with them. Winona was quick to accept their invitation with a smile. Just as she was about to get up and leave with those students, Hudson felt that he had found his chance to strike back. He quickly grabbed Winona's arm. "Winona, didn't you promise me that you'd only have lunch with me from now on?" Winona was surprised. She didn't expect Hudson to exert his dominance over her so abruptly in public. This was definitely a shock for her. Still, she quickly snapped out of her trance and smiled warmly. She said to those classmates softly, "I'm so sorry about that. I've already promised Hudson that I'd eat with him. Let's go out for lunch together next time." "Next time, huh? Winona, I don't think you'll be able to dine with us for the rest of our lives! Have fun being lovey-dovey with your precious Hudson!" The other classmates all smiled knowingly at Winona. Then, they left together tacitly. Winona soon hugged Hudson's arm and leaned against him in an intimate fashion. Just like that, both of them left the classroom together. At first, Hudson wanted to take Winona to the cafeteria. He didn't expect her to drag him all the way to the rooftop. Once Winona was sure that nobody was on the rooftop, she finally released her hold on Hudson. Then, she gazed into his eyes. Hudson originally thought that Winona would scold him for pulling her away from her friends. What he didn't expect to see was Winona looking at her seriously. "Thank you for doing that just now. That was my bad. I almost disobeyed the 24-hour monitoring period's protocol," Winona said. "Huh?" Hudson felt flabbergasted. Was Winona smart? Or was she actually dumb? Which one was the real her? "I know what you want to ask me," Winona continued before Hudson could speak up. "What exactly… do I want to ask you?" he replied while scratching his head. "You want to know who I am and which organization I belong to as well as what the heck was that monster from last night. That's why you requested to eat with me, right?" Winona said. She sure had a good imagination. Despite his thought, Hudson nodded seriously. "Yeah. That's right. Can you give me the answers?" "Sure thing," Winona said immediately. Hudson wasn't used to Winona's honestly. He frowned as he asked in confusion, "Aren't you worried that I might reveal your secret?" The moment Hudson asked that question, Winona placed her hand gently on his chest. She narrowed her eyes before revealing a confident smile. Before Hudson could do anything, he could feel the world spinning around him. The next thing he knew, he was already flipped to the ground. Winona could be seen straddling on top of him. Her body's softness and warmth permeated through his skin via her thin shorts, making his heart beat wildly in his chest. Right now, her long and slender legs were currently touching his arms. Hudson gulped subconsciously. His eyes kept darting around Winona's beautiful face. She looked as pure and innocent as an angel, yet her gaze was as cold as ice. It felt like she could easily pierce anyone with how sharp her gaze was. Her demeanor was contradictory. While she looked cheerful and bubbly on the outside, she was secretly as deadly as a cobra. "Why should I be worried about you exposing my secret?" Winona remained cold as usual, though her fingers slowly grazed across Hudson's jawline. She continued, "I'll stay by your side at all times this week. If you dare breathe a word about my secret to others, I believe my blade will be faster than your mouth." When Winona reached this part, her fingers swept across Hudson's neck lightly as though she was hinting at something. She said, "One week later, if you're really an Awakened without any traces of infection, many organizations will rush over to recruit you. But if you begin showing signs of being infected…" She bent down to murmur into Hudson's ear, "I'll kill you with my own hands in just one strike. I won't let you suffer for long." Hudson could feel his earlobe tingling. Winona's warm breath fanned across his neck, making him shiver subconsciously. He did his best to suppress the trembling in his heart as he pretended to remain composed. "Got it. I'll be careful." After that, he raised his hands as a sign of surrender. "Can you let go of me now? It'll be inappropriate if someone chances upon us in this compromising position." Winona harrumphed before getting up from Hudson's body. Hudson rubbed his neck while gazing at the beautiful yet dangerous young woman. He could still feel the lingering fear in his heart. "Hudson, the world you see before your eyes isn't as peaceful as you think." Without any warning, Winona began explaining everything to Hudson as soon as she stood up. She explained, "40 years ago, a natural phenomenon known as the 'rift' appeared right above the broadcasting tower in Neptuna. The rift served as a portal for unknown monsters called 'beasts' to enter our world." Winona moved to sit on a bench on the rooftop as she spoke. She crossed one leg over the other casually. She patted the spot next to her as a gesture for Hudson to join her. "Neptuna…" Hudson began recalling any details about that particular city. It was true that Neptuna had existed in the past. The reason why it was described to have existed in the past was because it was reduced to a wasteland by a natural apocalypse which came out of nowhere 40 years ago. Up until now, the government never released an official explanation as to what destroyed Neptuna. The citizens who had lived in Neptuna all disappeared as well, as if they never existed before. Winona continued, "Beasts possess extremely destructive power that mankind's weapons cannot possibly compare to. They are naturally violent and bloodthirsty, not to mention they torture and slaughter humans for fun. 40 years ago, mankind didn't have any means to fight back against those beasts." Winona continued, "This phenomenon is what we call the 'wave of beasts'. As soon as the waves sweep across the city, they'll engulf everything, including the proof that the citizens once existed." Hudson gulped in response. Neptuna was still a land of rubble and debris until this day. Moreover, the government had no plans of reconstructing the city at all. Could it be caused by the aforementioned wave of beasts? Winona said, "Fortunately, the rift didn't just bring us disasters. With it came a mysterious power as well. This power has completely changed the way this world works. It allows humans to go through an awakening phase so that they can be granted the power to fight back against the beasts." "So you're an Awakened too?" Hudson widened his eyes in shock. He never would've thought that such mystical phenomena actually existed in this world. Awakened, superpowers, waves of beasts… These elements made him feel disoriented, as though he was living in a sci-fi movie. But when Hudson recalled Anne's mutation and the weird things that had happened to his body, he had no choice but to accept this new reality. "I can't tell you much for now. Besides, you don't need to know that much. All you need to know is that Anne didn't target you randomly. It's true that something strange exists within you," Winona said. She slowly turned around to face Hudson, her gaze becoming extremely serious. "Humans who get assaulted by beasts tend to face one of two outcomes. Either they die on the spot and become beast chow, or they become infected." After that, her voice slowly became gentle, though there was a trace of determination in it. "Hudson, I really hope you can become our ally." At that moment, the rooftop's door suddenly opened. Winona's reflexes kicked in immediately. She caught sight of the newcomers with the corner of her eye before cupping Hudson's cheeks and kissing him on the mouth. Poor Hudson was disoriented from what just happened. Things had just escalated quickly. At first, Hudson thought that it was a simple lip-to-lip kiss. But then, he noticed Natalie standing at the doorway from the corner of his eye. She happened to be staring at them with a shocked expression on her face. That was when Winona made her next move. Her flexible tongue swept across Hudson's teeth gently, effectively prying his mouth apart. His lips, which were slightly parted due to shock, helped make her job easier. "Hold on—" Hudson's first instinct was to push Winona away. However, she already wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, so he couldn't move at all. Winona's kissing technique sucked. In fact, there was barely any technique whatsoever. Her tongue kept exploring Hudson's cavity while she suckled and nibbled onto his lips the whole time. The way she kissed him was domineering and forceful. Hudson could easily tell that Winona wasn't good at kissing. After all, her cheeks were redder than his. Once the kiss was over, Winona moved away from Hudson while panting slightly. Despite her flaming cheeks, she did her best to look nonchalant. Then, she leaned into Hudson's ear and murmured, "You have to sell the act. Someone's watching us." Truthfully speaking, Hudson knew very well that Winona did it on purpose. Even if people were to visit the rooftop, it was completely unnecessary for her to kiss him right away. Winona spotted Natalie right away, so she decided to kiss him just to put on a show for Natalie on purpose. Moreover, she even chose the most intense method. As expected, Natalie was so furious that she was trembling all over. Winona was in a similar condition. The only difference was that her lips were the ones trembling. Was this a real-life example of a pyrrhic victory? Originally, Natalie wanted to explain herself to Hudson when she saw him and Winona heading toward the rooftop. She wanted him to stop fantasizing about getting back with her. After all, she and Quinton were soulmates. However, she didn't expect to witness such an intense scene the moment she opened the door to the rooftop.