Chapter 1

The apocalypse has arrived. I carry multiple special abilities and am humanity's hope. However, my wife tears those powers out of me for the sake of her true love.

I'm in unbearable pain. I beg her to stop, telling her I'll die. But she doesn't care at all. "Why are you so selfish? You have so many abilities and won't even give one to Ed. Stop being so dramatic. Why do you get to be the hero while my Ed stays an ordinary person?"

What she doesn't know is that each special ability is like a heart—take it away, and the person dies.

Chapter 1

In the final second before my consciousness slipped away, my mind was filled with nothing but my wife's ice-cold gaze.

Savannah Lane, the woman I had loved desperately for seven years, had just killed me for another man. That soul-shattering pain drowned out even the agony of having my special abilities ripped from my body.

I didn't understand. What had I ever done to her to deserve such cruelty?

When the apocalypse hit, I'd thrown myself into every dangerous mission so she could live better. I came home covered in blood and wounds more times than I could count. All I got in return, however, was cold-blooded murder.

I let out my last unwilling breath and died with resentment.

Maybe my resentment was too strong, because the next thing I knew, I was trailing after Savannah in the form of a spirit.

She was in the lab, her face glowing with joy as she handed the vial containing my stolen special ability to her true love, Edmund Colson.

She said, "Ed, here it is—the special ability I got for you. It's the strongest lightning-based ability there is, so don't worry."

I only let out a bitter, silent laugh. She really was willing to go all out for him. Not only did she strip me of my special abilities, but she'd also picked the strongest one I had.

She'd never once gone to this much trouble for me.

Edmund's face lit up. He pulled Savannah into his arms. "Sav, I don't even know how to thank you. Once I have this special ability, I can go out on missions every day. I'll give you all the supplies I get."

Savannah blushed. "Ed, your safety is what matters most. I'll love anything you give me."

He sighed, putting on a self-deprecating look. "But no matter what, I'll never compare to Chase. He's the captain and can bring back all sorts of supplies. I—"

She couldn't bear hearing him put himself down and hastily cut him off. "So what? In my heart, anything from you is the best. I don't care about a single thing Chase has ever brought back."

Savannah's words struck me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

Life after the apocalypse wasn't easy, but I'd refused to let her suffer, even just a little. Every time I went out on a mission, I fought on the front lines, slaying zombies like a madman just to earn more points. With more points, I could trade for more supplies for her.

Even with multiple special abilities, there were times I ran out of strength. Getting injured was routine, but every wound felt worth it if it meant giving Savannah a safe, comfortable life.

Every time I rushed home, excited to show her what I'd managed to bring back, she would only spare the things a cold glance. She'd never once looked moved, never once asked if I was okay. Yet Edmund only had to feed her empty promises to make her melt.

Perhaps that was the difference between being loved and not being loved at all.

Edmund's eyes glinted. He feigned worry as he asked, "Sav, won't Chase come after me when he wakes up?"

Savannah frowned, her expression turning frigid. "What right does he have to come after you? I just took one of his special abilities. It's not like I killed him.

"You can also be someone everyone looks up to, Ed. You're just short of a special ability. Chase has so many, so sharing one with you is the least he can do. How can he be so selfish?"

I wanted to tell her that I really was dead. And without me, the entire human race was about to face extinction.

Chapter 2

Since the apocalypse began, humanity had all but vanished. Seizing another person's special abilities had become disturbingly common.

For an ability wielder, each special ability was as vital as one's heart itself. Even minor damage to it could bring devastating consequences, let alone forcibly ripping it out of the wielder.

I was the person with the most special abilities on the entire planet. I carried the fate of mankind on my shoulders in the fight against the zombie hordes. I spent every waking second on guard against betrayal and watching for knives in the dark.

Yet it never once crossed my mind that the fatal blow would come from Savannah, my own wife.

When she handed me that glass of water, I drank without a shred of suspicion. The next instant, tearing agony exploded through every nerve in my body.

Even then, I didn't suspect her. I thought some enemy had poisoned me. I begged her to call for help.

It was only when she showed no surprise at my reaction and calmly took out the extraction vial that the realization dawned on me. She was the one who'd hurt me.

In that moment, a tidal wave of despair swallowed me whole.

I'd once had a chunk of flesh ripped off by a zombie and hadn't made a sound, but right then, tears rolled down my face. I couldn't tell anymore whether it was the physical pain or the heartbreak that hurt worse.

I made a last-ditch effort to ask for help. I pleaded with Savannah, choking out that I would die. However, she merely thought I was lying because I didn't want to hand over my special ability to Edmund.

I coughed up blood right in front of her.

Savannah was an ordinary person who'd never awakened any power. How could she possibly understand how important the special abilities were? She was convinced I was faking it.

After extracting my special abilities, she turned and walked away without looking back, leaving me only the cold sight of her retreating figure.

And so, wracked with unbearable pain, I died.

Chapter 3

Savannah successfully implanted the special ability into Edmund's body.

He couldn't wait to test it. A blinding bolt of lightning erupted from his palm, shattering all the glass in the lab.

His face lit up with wild excitement. "I finally have a special ability! I won't have to live under everyone's scorn anymore!"

He grabbed Savannah's hands and looked into her eyes tenderly. "Sav, without you, I would've been called a useless piece of trash my whole life. You're the most important woman in my life."

She shook her head seriously. "Even without powers, you were never a waste. Those people couldn't see your worth. Chase was just lucky that he awakened so many special abilities. How could he ever compare to you? Now, you have a special ability, too. If you ask me, he should step down as captain and let you have it."

She looked so contemptuous at the mention of me that it was as if I were rotting garbage that she couldn't kick far enough away.

Every word out of her mouth stabbed straight into my heart. I heard it shatter, loud and clear.

Yes, I'd awakened multiple special abilities, but I'd also had to train ten times harder than anyone else. I'd never taken even a single day off.

I'd pushed every single ability to its absolute limit. It was only with my power and strength that I'd earned the captain's position and become humanity's hope.

Each time the zombie wave came, I was the one charging at the front, carving out the peace and safety the survivors now enjoyed.

Yet, Savannah easily reduced it to me being lucky.

Edmund couldn't hide the smug curl of his lips, though he pretended to be modest. "Chase has been captain for years, after all. If I tried to take his spot right away, no one would accept it. For now, I'd be happy just being a regular team member."

At that, I clenched my fists so hard that my knuckles turned white. He'd stolen my special ability and was even dreaming of stealing my position as captain. I couldn't wait to see if he was actually capable of holding it!

Savannah suggested they return to Edmund's place to celebrate, to which he instantly agreed.

As an ordinary person, Edmund had a housing allocation that was barely big enough for one. But the moment the door opened, I was stunned.

The place was packed—canned food stacked to the ceiling, sacks of potatoes, and even rare fresh fruit and green vegetables.

Those supplies were things that would cost even me a fortune in points to redeem. How could an ordinary person like him have all of this?

Then, it hit me. I thought about the supplies back home that seemed to run out suspiciously quickly. I would often reach home exhausted, wanting to cook something, only to find the pantry mysteriously empty again.

When I asked Savannah about it, she would just scold me for being useless and for not bringing back enough food. I'd felt so ashamed that I'd upped the frequency at which I traded for items.

Now, I knew the truth. She'd been taking everything I brought home and giving it to Edmund.

Bitterness flooded my chest. All this time, I'd been played for an absolute fool.

Chapter 4

I watched as Edmund and Savannah exchanged coy glances and suggestive looks in that cramped room. A storm of grief and fury roared inside me.

I tried with everything I had to tear myself away from this suffocating scene, but some invisible tether yanked me back, chaining my soul to Savannah's side.

Just then, a phone rang. Savannah's face twisted with annoyance. She answered and snapped, "I'm at Ed's place now. Make it quick!"

There was a long silence on the other end. She was about to hang up impatiently when a voice, low and shaking with barely-contained rage, finally came through. "Savannah, Chase is dead. How can you still be in the mood to be with another man?"

It was Sean Tate, my teammate.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Tell Chase to quit the theatrics. Does he really think I'll fall for this? All I did was give one of his special abilities to Ed. Is he petty enough to make up lies like this to fool me?"

Sean's voice abruptly grew louder as he asked incredulously, "What? You're the one who stripped Chase's special ability?"

Savannah replied indifferently, "Yeah. He has so many. One less won't kill him."

Sean roared, "Do you have any idea that losing a special ability can kill us? We can't afford to lose even one! Chase was your husband! He treated you like you were a queen. How can you be this heartless?"

Savannah snorted. "Stop lying to me. Tell Chase that I'm not coming home tonight."

She ended the call without another word.

Edmund slipped an arm around her waist, putting on a show of concern as he said, "Sav, I think Chase is mad. Should I go apologize to him?"

She shook her head, sounding completely indifferent toward me. "Don't bother. This is something he should've done. Why should he get to hoard all those special abilities? I only took one—that's already showing him respect."

How could she make the things she'd done sound so matter-of-fact? She didn't feel even the slightest bit of guilt toward me.

Then again, it made sense. She never cared about me in the first place. To her, I was just a fool on a leash. She could summon me when I was useful and dismiss me when I was inconvenient.

All the sacrifices I'd made for her were just jokes to her. Everything I had was hers to give away to please Edmund. Even my life meant nothing to her.

Chapter 5

Early the next morning, Savannah came home glowing.

I couldn't help looking forward to her reaction when she saw my corpse. Would she show even a shred of regret?

But the moment she pushed the door open, I saw that my corpse was gone. Sean had probably taken it away after discovering my death.

Savannah frowned and called out my name. When no answer came, she clicked her tongue in irritation. "He's so petty. What kind of grown man acts like this and runs away from home? I just need to crook my finger for him to come crawling back."

With that, she turned around and left to go to Edmund again, humming cheerfully.

She'd probably forgotten something. Ever since the apocalypse started, I'd constantly been out on missions. I worried that I wasn't spending enough time with her, so on the rare days I had off, I never stepped outside the house. I just wanted to be with her a little longer.

In hindsight, every single day I stayed home, she'd probably wished I'd hurry up and leave so she could run to Edmund. To her, I was nothing but an inconvenience.

Savannah took Edmund with her to the hall where all ability wielders assembled. They strutted in arrogantly.

Edmund slapped his ID down on the registration counter, a smug look spreading across his face. "I've awakened a special ability now—it's the strongest lightning-based ability there is. Register me now so I can go on missions."

He was so drunk on his own ego that he didn't notice the skeptical looks people shot his way.

"A lightning-based ability? If I remember correctly, you're an ordinary civilian. How did you suddenly awaken a special ability? You're not trying to pull a fast one, are you?" the clerk asked.

Edmund bristled as if he were a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "How dare you doubt me! Come on, then! Someone come up here and spar with me! I've got lightning-based ability now, so who would dare take me on? Just wait till we're out in the field. You'll all be begging me for help! Let's see who dares look down on me now!"

Savannah gazed at him with starry eyes as if he were some kind of legendary hero.

Seeing how confident he was, the crowd muttered, but no one dared speak up.

Edmund swept a triumphant glance around the room. "Since you're all so skeptical, let me show you what the strongest special ability looks like."

With that, he threw his shoulders back and summoned his lightning with confidence. To his surprise, the lightning bolt this time was far from what it had been when he'd tested it the first time. There was only a pathetic spark before it vanished completely.

Edmund had no idea that stolen special abilities would automatically scale to match the new host's capacity—and he had zero.

Dead silence blanketed the hall. Then, the entire place erupted in thunderous laughter.

"That's the so-called strongest ability?"

"That wouldn't even tickle a zombie!"

"Captain Gray's lightning is the truly powerful one. This guy's nothing but a joke!"

Chapter 6

Edmund's face went from crimson with humiliation to dark with anger. He grabbed Savannah's wrist and stormed out of the assembly hall. Even after they'd left, the jeers and laughter still chased them down the street.

Once they reached a deserted corner, Edmund flung Savannah's hand away. His expression twisted into something feral as he roared, "Why was the ability so weak? Do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Did you lie to me? This isn't Chase's power at all, is it? Where the hell did you get this from?"

Savannah had no idea what had gone wrong. She rubbed her aching wrist, looking wronged and confused. "Ed, I swear I didn't lie to you—I took the ability straight from Chase's body. I… I don't know why it turned out like this…"

Edmund breathed hard and forced himself to calm down. He knew how Savannah felt about him. She wouldn't deceive him.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pleaded, "Can you get me another one of Chase's abilities? You saw how weak the lightning-based one was in my hands. It obviously doesn't suit me. Pick a different one, and I'll definitely be able to handle it."

I couldn't believe his greed. He actually wanted a second one.

Unfortunately, I was already dead. He was doomed to be disappointed.

Savannah instantly agreed. "Don't worry, Ed. I'll make sure you get a strong special ability. Chase has plenty. He won't miss just two of them. I'll go find him right now."

Even after seeing just how heartless she could be toward me, I still felt like I'd been stabbed when I saw her agree without a second's hesitation.

She was so confident that she could harm me over and over again without any consequence. What was I to her? A walking blood bank? A tool to curry favor with Edmund?

In that moment, every last trace of love I'd ever felt for her vanished completely. All that remained was regret over my failure to see her for who she really was.

Now, my biggest worry was the safe zone's future. The next zombie wave was less than a month away, but the antidote to cure this zombie virus had yet to be developed. Ability wielders were all we could depend on to keep the zombies away.

Without me, guarding the safe zone would be almost impossible. If the walls fell, mankind would face total annihilation.

…

True to her word, Savannah rushed home to look for me. When she found the place still empty, she went straight to the training camp where my team was stationed and tracked down Sean.

Because she was my wife, all my team members treated her with respect. So, the moment she spotted Sean, she started barking orders like a queen. "Tell Chase to get here. I need to see him right now."

She didn't notice Sean's bloodshot eyes or the dark circles carved beneath them.

He let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You'll have to kill yourself if you want to see him."

Savannah thought Sean was stopping her from seeing me and flew off the handle. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm Chase's wife! Do I need your permission to see my own husband? Keep this up, and I'll have him kick you off the team!"

The mention of her being my wife made something snap in Sean. He lunged forward, grabbed her wrist, and roared, "His wife? I'm surprised you still remember that! You murdered him with your own hands, yet you dare call yourself his wife! Fine. You want to see him, right? I'll take you to him right now!"

He hauled her deeper into the camp. She stumbled after him, trying and failing to break free.

Finally, Sean stopped in front of a closed door. He shoved it open and said icily, "Chase is right inside."

Savannah opened her mouth to complain, but she froze when she looked up and saw what was inside the room. "C-Chase?"