Global Evolution: I Became A Zombie!

Blaze walked around the lair, overseeing the preparations. Honestly, it was strange seeing so many undead and humans working together. Perhaps an optimistic fool would think the invasion would lead to something good, but Blaze knew better.

It was a temporary alliance to fend off a stronger foe. The thing was that most humans thought the aliens were there to destroy them.

If they had an inkling the aliens were there to rescue them, then they'd be fighting the undead instead.

Fortunately for Blaze, the Collective viewed them all as insects. Some were important, and some weren't. They would kill the zombies and most humans. At least from what the observers had told him.

Only a select few individuals would be assimilated into the Collective's ranks. Since no one knew who would be selected and who wouldn't, for now, they had decided to fight together. A fact that was subject to change as soon as the aliens arrived.

Wasting so much time preparing for futile resistance.

Blaze shook his head.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt in his head. The next moment, he ran straight into a spiked wall. If not for Raven tackling him to the ground, he'd have gotten impaled by the spikes.

"It's alright," Blaze said, patting Raven's back. "Thanks for the assist."

Raven got up and groaned before helping Blaze up. The latter looked at his hands and feet, wondering what the hell was going on with him. It was as if someone were trying to control his actions.

[Sentient Rot has been activated.]

[Subject's mental state restored.]

"Again?"

Ever since Blaze took out the Collective's observer ship, his mental status had been weird.

He would randomly get angry, or numb, and even upset. If not for [Sentient Rot], he would have lost his mind ten times over.

Now things had gotten worse. It was like he had gotten the zombie version of Tourette's syndrome. The only difference was that his ticks forced him to try to kill himself.

Blaze would have thought someone was targeting him if only he were suffering from it. But Marrow was suffering from the same.

It was as if any undead with a certain level of sentience were being affected by it.

At first, it wasn't so weird. Once every three days was doable, but losing his mind hourly made it impossible for him to concentrate.

What was worse was the fact that he didn't even know the cause of it.

It wasn't a disease, since neither the Seer nor the aliens could find anything wrong with him.

His mind went back to Neha, wondering if it was her doing, but it wasn't. He had it confirmed by a cultist who could detect lies.

All the fun and excitement he had after getting advanced technology disappeared.

Thankfully, the aliens, along with Alaric and Neha, were finishing up setting the base. Moreover, it was a time to rejoice. After all, it wasn't every day Earth received a guest from space.

Anur had arrived.

Her vessel split through the rotten rain as it hovered above the surface. Unlike the observer ship, Anur's ship was much humbler. If the observer ship was a sports car, Anur's was a family van. A comparatively small family van.

Her ship landed on top of the observer ship as a beam of light shot out of it. The rays hit right in front of Blaze, and a ten-foot-tall feminine figure appeared before him.

When the humans saw her, their faces fell open. Even the usually composed Voss and Alaric couldn't help but gawk at her.

"Close your mouths," Blaze instructed them, but to no avail.

As for Lo Da and his crew, they were dumbfounded. They didn't expect a pureblooded Xylorian to grace them with their presence.

"Pureblooded what?" Blaze asked them through the mental link.

"The species you see here, we were all brought into the collective by force disguised as mercy," Lo Da replied. "The Xylorians, however, were one of the three founding species of the Collective."

He continued with reverence in his voice. "It's said that meeting them in person either brings you immeasurable prosperity or devastating misfortune."

"Is that so?"

So far, after seeing her face, things had gone south for him. The sudden suicidal attempts could be part of it.

Misfortune it is, then.

Anur stood before Blaze, smiling politely at him. Unlike the others, she wasn't wearing an oversized helmet for respiration, nor was she disgusted by the rotten smell in the air.

It was as if… she were home.

"You've done exceptionally well for a former human," she said. "I didn't expect to see such a… dominant display of the virus before me."

Her voice sounded even more enchanting in person. Not only that, but just being around her put everyone at ease. Probably, it was another one of their abilities.

It didn't feel like they were in the presence of a dominant, space-faring race, but of a long-lost friend.

"I had to put on a good first impression," Blaze said, noticing how the rotten rain was bouncing off her, leaving her figure untouched. "Now if we could—"

Before Blaze could get to the point, Anur suddenly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a bear hug.

Marrow's fists clenched the moment she touched Blaze. While it was her possessiveness trigger, the rest of the horde was also alarmed.

If not for Blaze's signal to stand down, they'd have already attacked the alien, although it would have been in vain. The armor Anur had equipped wasn't like the ones worn by others.

Forget about touching her, nothing could get close to her without her permission.

"Forgive me for startling you," Anur said, putting Blaze back on his feet. "I was told this is how your kind greets one another, and I wished to see it for myself."

"It's completely fine," Alaric chimed in, raising his hands. "My son didn't greet you properly. Please allow me to demonstrate—"

Anur nodded as Alaric stepped towards her with open arms, only to be yanked away by Blaze.

"Get a grip on yourself, old man," he said through gritted teeth. "This isn't the time for you to feel her body."

"Son, you should be happy for your father," Alaric said, rubbing his sore butt. "I have found love—"

"Take him away."

Raven rushed to fulfill the order, dragging the mad theorist away as he blew kisses in Anur's direction.

"Humans are a lively bunch!" Anur said, waving at Alaric.

"…please don't feed his delusions further."

***

After welcoming Anur and giving quick introductions, Blaze and Anur headed into her ship, since it was the only place she'd fit in without squeezing herself.

Once inside, they didn't waste any time dillydallying. Blaze briefed her about the situation on Earth, which she seemed to know a lot about.

On the other hand, she answered most of his questions regarding the Collective, its origin and most importantly, its turn to drawing sadistic pleasure by watching smaller civilizations squirm.

"This is not why the Collective was established," she said, closing her eyes. "We were meant to shield those who couldn't protect themselves, not stand idle while they waged a battle destined for defeat."

She reached out to Blaze, placing her hand on his.

"I'm sorry for all your kind had to go through."

Blaze only looked at her and wondered if she had a screw or two loose. He was part of the same virus she wanted to protect others from.

Besides, the more he learned about the collective, the more he realized they were much like him. Their tendencies were jarringly same. Honestly, they could have made great friends if not for being on opposite sides.

What they did to humans and other species wasn't any different from what I did. Anur knows it as well, so why is she acting all chummy?

He looked at her, but unlike humans, he couldn't figure out what was going on inside her head. She was an open book, but one written in a language he didn't know.

"Aren't you afraid I'll consume you? Or better yet, hand you over to the Collective when they arrive?" Blaze asked, tapping his fingers on the table. "For all I know, you're a rebel. Capturing you should be enough to get them to spare me."

Anur smiled upon hearing his words. It wasn't like she hadn't thought of the possibility, but she was confident in her own abilities. Why else would she endanger herself?

"You don't know this, but the Collective hadn't forgotten its core principle despite being corrupted," she mumbled, clenching her fist with shattered Blaze's fingers in less than a second.

"We do not deal with the virus," she continued. "You're the only exception to that rule. Why do you think those two aliens were demoted to the lowest rank?"

"They made a deal with you. That was enough to have them executed. Yet they were allowed to roam as the insects that they were."

"I wouldn't be given that grace. In fact, they would make an example out of me for having this conversation. After killing you, that is."

With that, Anur let go of Blaze's hand, which had been crushed to resemble a small cylinder. However, instead of being angry, he smiled back at her.

"So you mean to say," Blaze replied, squeezing her hand this time. "If one of us dies—"

"The other dies with them."