My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 812

Chapter 812 -812 Adam And Jason

Since this was everyone’s first time doing it, they were still visibly disgusted—gagging occasionally as they worked. It took them a full hour to extract hundreds of crystal cores. When they finally finished, they wrapped the cores in a piece of cloth and brought them to Kisha.

The two group leaders stepped forward together to personally hand over the bundle and formally introduce themselves.

“Savior, thank you for saving us, for sharing such valuable information, and for extending an olive branch,” said the leader of the first group Kisha had met. He bowed deeply as he presented the cloth full of cores. “We won’t forget this favor. If you ever need our help, please call on us—we’ll do everything we can to support you and your base.”

Kisha accepted the crystal cores without hesitation.

“My name is Adam Lewis, by the way,” he added, straightening up.

At that moment, the leader of the opposing group stepped forward as well. His posture was firm and disciplined, both hands clasped behind his back like a soldier standing at attention.

“Boss! Thank you for giving us a new path to walk,” the man said, his voice filled with gratitude. “We’ll never forget this favor, and we won’t take it for granted either. We’ll make the most of this opportunity. And if you ever need our help in the future, my brothers and I will come running—we’ll support you however we can.”

He gave a sheepish grin before adding, “Name’s Jason Black. I’m from Gale City—though calling it a city’s a stretch. It’s more like a small, backward town.”

He gave a shrug, clearly unbothered by the truth.

Adam also added, “I’m from Maple Leaf Town. It was just recently upgraded to a city after some major developments.”

Their willingness to explain and openly reveal the locations of their settlements showed a level of sincerity and a clear effort to gain Kisha’s trust. After all, Kisha had already told them she belonged to the HOPE Base—the only large base in City B.

Even if she turned out to be untrustworthy or had ulterior motives, like extracting information to lead a raid on their settlements, they had decided to take that risk. If that day ever came, they’d just have to fight back with everything they had.

But in truth, the reason these men so easily trusted Kisha wasn’t just because she shared information about herself or the crystal cores. It wasn’t even the promise of trade and cooperation. The real reason lay in her passive skill—”Likeability Boost.”

Unbeknownst to them, this skill subtly influenced their first impression of her. Upon meeting her, they already had a default +5 likeability towards her. That may have only been 5 out of 100, but in a world where first impressions could mean life or death, it was enough to tip the scales in her favor and earn their cautious trust.

Those 5 likeability points made a real difference compared to starting from zero. Now that Kisha had shared valuable information with them—and even made them extract the crystal cores themselves as proof that they truly came from zombie heads—it only increased their trust and favor towards her. On top of that, she offered a trade deal: all they had to do was put in the effort to kill zombies and harvest the cores, which they could then exchange for much-needed resources.

No matter how unbelievable it sounded, this opportunity was a huge help. Usually, when something seems too good to be true, it’s often a scam—but they had to see it with their own eyes. If it turned out they’d walked straight into a den of thieves, well, that would just be their bad luck.

But because they had spent too much time harvesting the crystal cores, more zombies began to appear and close in on them. With no other option, they had to flee and follow Kisha.

“We can’t stay here any longer. Just stick with me—our base is deeper into the city. We’ll need to go at least 16 to 20 kilometers in before we reach the cleanup teams. They’ll be able to provide cover for you,” Kisha said between panting breaths. Her voice was slightly muffled, strained.

Without wasting another second, she turned and started running.

‘Damn it!’ Kisha cursed internally. ‘No one ever told me that getting my awakened ability locked would make me feel this feverish and sluggish—like I’m going through my awakening in reverse. This is torture!’

Each step felt like a battle. Her blood pounded against her skull, her muscles sluggish and unresponsive. But unlike the burning heat she felt during her first awakening, this time her body was freezing. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and a bone-deep chill seeped into her core. Still, she forced herself to run. She had no choice.

And when had this all started?

Right when the two leaders came forward to introduce themselves—right when her mission had effectively failed.

Ding!

[Mission Class B: “Save the Damsel or Be the Villain” — Failed]

[Mission Objective: Not Met]

[Mission Failure Penalty Countdown: 10][9…][8…]…[3…][2…][1…]