The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 545

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Chapter 545

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Meanwhile, Hayley had extra gifts to spare.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Speed and strength enhancement, too. She already had all the basic ones. And now, there was another fire–element gift on top of that.

This wasn’t like absorbing abilities from residents, where duplicates just stacked levels.

This pill was a whole extra slot.

A brand new fire–element gift.

She wasn’t even annoyed by the excess; not even a little.

This pill didn’t have to be for her. She could use it to power up her people. The more, the better. 1

If this ever hit the open market, it would be worth the same weight as an inhibitor, maybe more.

And then there was the drop rate.

If a common reward was already something like a standard elemental gift, then what the hell counted as rare?

Hayley felt her heartbeat pick up.

This system was about to take her straight to the top!

As she was still riding that rush, soft sobbing drifted up beside her.

“Dad… Dad…”

Max kneeled beside Ryan’s body, shoulders shaking as he cried into his hands.

The little girl he had saved stayed close. She stared at Ryan’s blood–soaked corpse, tears sliding down her face, too.

They were both so young.

And now, they had no one left.

Right then, footsteps approached from behind.

Woody arrived with his people. Nathaniel came with them. So did what remained of Ark Two.

The moment Ark Two saw Sigmund’s body, torn apart and unmistakably dead, their faces drained of color.

“Mr. Cole!”

“What happened to Mr. Cole?”

“What the hell happened here?”

Hayley didn’t even blink.

“He got bitten,” she said calmly. “I put him down.”

Everyone turned to look at her at once.

“Oh, right,” she added casually. “He actually helped a lot. He restrained the zombie that turned first. Without him, this place would’ve gone up again. Too bad he got infected himself.”

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Max froze. He stared at Hayley, tears in his eyes, as she flipped the story on its head.

Hayley lifted a brow, unapologetic and smug.

She said it. So what?

The cameras were already dead by the time she showed up. Who was going to prove otherwise?

The others glanced at Ryan’s body, covered in bite marks just like Sigmund was. For a moment, no one knew how to untangle the truth.

Hayley’s version sounded plausible enough, even if she had switched cause and effect.

Woody cleared his throat and looked at Max. “That was your father?”

Max nodded.

“He died with merit,” Woody said immediately. “Once things settle, he’ll be buried properly. And you’ll take a Level One manager position.”

It was obvious who that was really for.

A favor, offered straight to Hayley through the boy. After all, she had basically saved their lives.

Hayley said nothing. Which meant acceptance.

The surviving members of Ark Two exchanged looks, then chose silence.

What else could they say?

Trevor was dead. Sigmund was dead. There was no one left to push back.

And they were standing in someone else’s base, surrounded by people who might decide not to let them leave.

So they gathered their people and withdrew quietly.

By then, the zombie riot inside Ark Three was finally over.