Zombie Apocalypse: I Have Safe Zone Superpower

Chapter 773: Chapter 773: Punishment

Without another word, Annie reached forward and firmly grabbed Gwen’s wrist.

Gwen immediately struggled.

“What are you doing? Let go! I said let me go!”

She tried pulling her hand free, but Annie refused to release her grip.

Instead, she gently but firmly dragged Gwen into the living room before making her sit on the sofa.

The cushions sank beneath Gwen’s weight as she continued glaring furiously.

Annie stood before her with folded arms.

“Now sit. Tell me exactly what happened. What do you mean when you say I told something to my sister-in-law? Who exactly are you talking about?”

Hearing those questions, Gwen laughed sarcastically.

“Oh my God, so now you’re pretending? Aren’t you the one who told Martha that I’ve been using Felix’s name?”

Annie immediately shook her head. “No.”

Gwen felt her confidence falter for just a second. A tiny crack appeared in the certainty she had built inside her mind.

But she couldn’t admit she might have been wrong. Not after everything that had happened.

So she immediately raised her voice again. “You’re lying! Then why did she suddenly warn me?”

Those words caused Annie to frown deeply. She looked thoughtfully at Gwen before calmly replying,

“Really? She warned you? If that’s the case, then someone must have told her something.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

“But even if that’s true, why are you so convinced it was me? Didn’t it ever occur to you that you could simply ask Martha directly? Why immediately assume I’m the culprit? Why act as though you’ve already been betrayed without confirming anything?”

Her calm reasoning caused Gwen’s expression to stiffen. She bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled.

Finally, she gritted her teeth.

“Aren’t you unhappy that I used Felix’s name?”

This time, Annie didn’t deny it. Instead, she raised her voice. “I am unhappy!”

The sudden answer caused Gwen’s eyes to widen. She immediately opened her mouth to argue.

However, Annie interrupted her before she could utter a single word.

“I am unhappy! But not for the reason you’re thinking!”

Her voice trembled with emotions she had been suppressing for a long time.

“I’m your sister! I’m supposed to be the closest person to you! But when you needed someone, you chose to rely on Felix’s name instead. Gwen, what exactly are you thinking? Am I really so distant to you? Do you feel closer to Felix than to your own sister?”

As those words left her mouth, Annie finally stopped hiding the bitterness and hurt buried deep within her heart.

She wasn’t upset because Gwen had borrowed Felix’s influence. She was hurt because Gwen had never once thought of relying on her.

Why? Why had Felix become the person Gwen instinctively turned to? Why, couldn’t that person have been her instead?

After all, Gwen was supposed to be her sister.

When Gwen heard those words, she was stunned.

For the first time, she was hearing something completely different from the image she had created inside her own mind.

She had always believed Annie was jealous of her.

She had convinced herself that Annie wanted to steal everything she possessed.

But now, the very person she believed should have hated her was standing before her, speaking with nothing but disappointment and concern.

The contradiction left Gwen speechless. As Gwen remained frozen in place, Annie frowned slightly.

“Just wait here. I’ll confirm everything first.”

Without waiting for Gwen’s response, Annie turned around and walked away.

Left alone, Gwen didn’t immediately storm out like she normally would.

Instead, she lowered her head and began replaying every interaction she had ever had with Annie.

Several minutes later, Annie returned.

The moment she stepped back into the room, she looked directly at Gwen before bluntly declaring, “You’re an idiot.”

Gwen immediately sprang up from the sofa as if someone had stepped on her tail.

“What did you just say?”

She pointed angrily at Annie.

“You’re the idiot! You’re the one to blame! You stole all the brains while we were in our mother’s womb! You left me with nothing except talent for fighting!”

Annie rolled her eyes so hard that she almost laughed. “It’s actually the complete opposite.”

She crossed her arms before continuing.

“Anyway, are you really so dense that you couldn’t even understand Martha was trying to help you instead of warning you?”

Gwen blinked repeatedly. “…What?”

For a brief moment, she was genuinely dumbfounded.

Seeing her blank expression, Annie pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

She patiently explained everything. From Martha’s perspective, to her intentions.

After Annie finished explaining, silence filled the room. Gwen stood there motionless.

Then, an overwhelming wave of secondhand embarrassment crashed over her.

Her cheeks instantly turned crimson.

The embarrassment became so unbearable that she genuinely wished the ground would split open beneath her feet so she could disappear forever.

‘Why…? Why did I rush over here without thinking? Why didn’t I simply ask Martha directly? Why did I immediately assume Annie betrayed me? And now… Martha probably knows I misunderstood her completely…’

The more Gwen thought about it, the more ashamed she became.

Unable to bear it any longer, she let out a muffled groan before grabbing the nearest pillow and burying her burning face inside it.

“Mmmgh…”

She wished she could suffocate herself with embarrassment. Seeing that scene, Annie paused.

A familiar feeling suddenly surfaced in her heart.

‘This… looks exactly like my little brother.’

Whenever he embarrassed himself, he also buried his face inside a pillow exactly like this.

The similarity made the corners of Annie’s lips twitch upward.

She quietly suppressed the smile threatening to escape.

Maintaining a calm expression, she softly said,

“Now that you know the truth, isn’t there something you should do?”

The moment those words reached Gwen’s ears, she immediately pulled her head out of the pillow.

She pointed accusingly at Annie.

“If you seriously think I’m going to apologise to you, you can keep dreaming! I won’t do it!”

Annie couldn’t help chuckling.

“No. Of course you’re not going to apologise.”

She nodded thoughtfully before continuing,

“After all, when someone commits a bad deed, they should receive punishment first. And apologize afterward.”

Hearing those words, Gwen stared at her in disbelief. “…What do you mean? Are you planning to report everything to Father?”

Annie nodded without hesitation.

“I absolutely will. If you refuse to accept your punishment willingly… I’ll tell Father everything.”

Gwen’s face immediately darkened. “How dare you!”

Annie simply smiled. “Because I’m your elder sister.”

“As your sister, I have every right to punish you.”

Gwen clenched her fists. She wanted to argue. She wanted to shout back. Yet strangely, for the very first time, the jealousy that had always lingered inside her heart began quietly fading away.

Annie truly regarded her as a sister.

That realization stirred something unfamiliar deep inside Gwen’s heart.

Before she could dwell on the feeling, however, Annie suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Come on.”

She immediately began dragging Gwen upstairs. “H-Hey! What are you doing?”

Gwen instinctively resisted. However, her resistance wasn’t particularly forceful.

Deep down, she genuinely feared Annie might actually tell their father everything.

So she reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled upstairs.

After entering Annie’s bedroom, Annie first opened a small medical kit and carefully treated the cuts on Gwen’s face with disinfectant.

The cool antiseptic stung against Gwen’s bruised skin, making her instinctively flinch.

“Tsk… It hurts.”

“You deserve it.”

After finishing the basic treatment, Annie picked up her phone and dialled Alana’s number.

Following a brief conversation, she contacted another person. Less than twenty minutes later, a healer arrived at the house.

Soft emerald-colored healing energy gently enveloped both sisters.

Warmth spread across every bruise and cut.

The aching pain gradually disappeared as the wounds visibly healed before their eyes.

Watching her injuries disappear, Gwen rolled her eyes. “I could’ve healed myself.”

Annie chuckled. “Really?”

She looked Gwen up and down with obvious amusement.

“From the state you were in… I honestly don’t think you were capable of taking care of yourself.”

Gwen immediately pointed at Annie.

“If you dare call me incapable one more time, I swear I’ll let you personally experience how my fists taste.”

Annie burst into laughter.

“Alright then. How about we fight again? Otherwise, you’ll keep living under the illusion that you actually have a chance of beating me.”

Gwen gritted her teeth. She was just about to accept the challenge.

However, Annie suddenly waved her hand.

“Forget it. Let’s not fight anymore.”

Gwen blinked. The sudden change confused her.

“…Hey. Do you have identity disorder or what?”

Annie shrugged. “It’s pointless. I should start carrying out your punishment instead.”

She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

“I’m already getting late. I still have a birthday party to attend.”

Hearing that, Gwen paused. “What kind of party?”

Her first instinct was to ask whether influential people would be attending.

Whether she could use the opportunity to build connections.

But, the moment that thought surfaced, Martha’s earlier words echoed inside her mind.

“Connections built through gifts won’t last.”