How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Emerging through the hazy dawn darkness onto the road were two men and one woman.

Their movements were extremely cautious.

Even though they were passing through a deserted residential area, they continued to advance, taking cover behind buildings and vehicles.

Moreover, they didn’t exchange any casual conversation.

Instead, they communicated by tapping their weapons with their fingers, giving signals to each other.

It was a behavior reminiscent of well-trained soldiers.

“…”

In response, Aiden cautiously aimed his rifle at them.

Just by observing their movements, it was clear that they weren’t ordinary wanderers.

Most crucially, their attire provided a decisive clue.

All three of them were wearing military uniforms.

That meant… were they from the ‘military’?

Aiden cautiously speculated about it.

Of course, the official military of this country had disappeared long ago, with the government having crumbled.

However, some among them utilized the weapons and resources the military possessed, organizing groups by rallying nearby survivors.

So, even after the country had vanished, they were still referred to as the military.

Although their actions weren’t much different from gangs, and they were usually classified as a part of the gangs, upon closer inspection, their arms and training made them more dangerous than ordinary gangsters.

“Hmm…”

Aiden muttered to himself as he observed their weapons closely.

Their faces weren’t clearly visible, but weapons were undoubtedly present in their hands.

Military assault rifles capable of automatic fire.

If a confrontation were to occur, these were excessively dangerous weapons.

Meanwhile, they had just approached a point where a road separated the cathedral and them.

The distance was about 10 meters.

There were no coverings on the road.

So, rather than looking for cover, they chose to swiftly cross the road.

Aiden spoke when they were about to cross the road.

“Stop.”

In response to his voice, the two people standing in the middle of the road simultaneously froze.

The man who was still in the back quickly pressed against the adjacent wall of a house.

However, he was still within Aiden’s line of sight.

Aiden didn’t give them any time to regain their composure and immediately spoke.

“Lower your guns to the ground. Don’t do anything foolish.”

It was only after hearing his second command that they finally realized Aiden was in the cathedral.

However, the dawn sky was still dark.

Inside the thick shadows, the exact location of any potential threats hiding in the cathedral was not visible.

The voice of the woman standing on the road urgently continued.

“Wait. We-“

“Shut up and put your guns down. The guy behind you too.”

With Aiden’s firm words, the three individuals exchanged glances for a moment, then slowly lowered their weapons to the ground and raised both hands.

Only then did Aiden continue speaking.

“Why are you here?”

The man in the back answered.

“We are on a reconnaissance mission.”

“Reconnaissance?”

Reconnaissance during this dangerous dawn.

It was not an easily believable statement.

However, as if aware of that, the man quickly continued speaking.

“We are in combat against fanatics.”

Aiden’s eyes slightly trembled at the word ‘fanatics.’

Could this place be the stronghold of those dangerous individuals?

“Yesterday, we discovered an unidentified black van entering the city from the north. We judged it to be reinforcements for the fanatics and came here. But now, it doesn’t seem like that. Was that your vehicle?”

Aiden didn’t respond.

However, his silence itself indicated an affirmation.

The man continued.

“Our enemies are fanatics. We have no intention of fighting wanderers. If you let us go, we won’t do anything and will leave.”

That was his last statement.

For a few seconds, a heavy silence pressed down on the cathedral and the space in front of it.

Finally, Aiden’s response came.

“…Go.”

It was an affirmation.

Upon Aiden’s permission, they picked up their guns first.

However, they didn’t aim them at Aiden.

No, they couldn’t.

Because Aiden’s whereabouts were still not visible.

So, instead, they quietly retraced their steps.

Unlike when they came here, they didn’t take cover, but moved swiftly.

Once they disappeared from their sight again, Arian’s voice echoed.

“Are you okay?”

Arian asked with a worried tone.

Her concern was something Aiden could fully understand.

Sending them away from here was indeed a risky decision.

Even if they returned immediately with reinforcements, it wouldn’t be surprising.

But it wasn’t an option for Aiden to keep them there.

Even if Aiden had chosen to fight, he couldn’t kill them without anyone noticing.

In the end, the intense gunfire would have awakened the entire city, and their comrades would have realized that something had happened.

Above all, they already knew where Aiden came from.

So, even if Aiden chose combat, there was no way to secretly eliminate them.

Eventually, the city would have been aware of something occurring, especially with a formidable gang.

If the gang’s true identity was the military, it would fit together.

From the beginning, well-armed groups with a clear command structure were often more extensive compared to other survivor groups.

“That’s why I judged it’s better not to be hostile. But… it’s still unsettling. It’s better to leave this place right away.”

“Where are we going?”

“For now, we have to go back the way we came. And when we confirm that we are not being tracked, we can head back to Fort Wayne.”

That seemed to be the best option Aiden could think of.

Avoid unnecessary combat and prioritize safety as much as possible.

But Arian didn’t seem to like that decision.

Above all, it was Aiden’s best decision, not Arian’s.

So, she raised her head and spoke.

“I’ll go instead.”

“Go where?”

“Those guys. I’ll follow them.”

Arian pointed outside the window.

“I will go directly to their base and find out their intentions. That should work, right?”

Arian said it casually, and Aiden was momentarily speechless.

It was something Aiden had not thought of.

However, thinking carefully… It was by no means an impossible task.

If it were Arian, she could go near their base without being noticed and listen to their conversation.

Even without entering the base, her sensory abilities would allow her to overhear their dialogue.

The reason Aiden didn’t come up with this method was simple.

He was well aware that Arian’s numerous abilities were useful against zombies.

However, he hadn’t fully grasped how deadly they could become against humans.

“…I understand. Please do it.”

Upon this, Arian nodded and immediately left the cathedral.

When Aiden looked back at the window after a while, Arian’s figure had already disappeared.

Meanwhile, the first rays of the sun were slowly rising in the sky.

* * *

The three people, Frank, Olivia, and Jack, who were forced to retreat from the cathedral by Aiden, walked in silence for a while.

Only when the morning sun began to rise and light appeared, Olivia Henderson cautiously spoke.

“…What should we do now?”

“What do you mean?”

Frank Daniel replied curtly, and he was the man who couldn’t even move at the road with Olivia.

His face was still contorted with displeasure from the previous incident, and he hadn’t relaxed yet.

“That guy. What he said. We didn’t even find out if they were fanatics.”

“Are you stupid? If that guy was a fanatic, he would have shot us all. Would he just let us go?”

“Then… really just wanderers?”

“Of course. Wasn’t that obvious, sergeant?”

Frank spoke to the man behind, Jack Patton.

Jack nodded his head with a short sigh.

“Maybe that’s the case. He didn’t show the attitude of a fanatic.”

“But what happens then? If they’re not fanatics, are we just leaving them? The car?”

“Well… It’s not my decision to make. Let’s report to the commander first.”

The other two nodded in agreement with Jack’s words.

Soon, they entered a hotel building in the heart of Lima.

Inside, about ten people lay on the floor, casualties from the gunfire with the fanatics the previous evening.

Ignoring the fallen comrades, Jack entered the inner rooms.

In one of the rooms, a few injured individuals lay on the beds, and a man next to them looked at Jack and the others with reflection.

“Welcome back, corporal Patton. How did it go?”

His name was Nathan Cooper.

He was in charge of this small unit and held the position of a commander in his military.

Jack explained the reconnaissance results to Nathan.

After hearing the entire report, Nathan sighed.

“So, it’s a story about not securing the vehicle in the end.”

The task assigned to Jack by Nathan was not just reconnaissance.

Their unit had won in the battle against the fanatics yesterday but suffered severe casualties.

More than half of the original strength of over 20 personnel had died.

The remaining half had serious injuries, with half of those numbers critically wounded.

However, that wasn’t the end of the problem.

All the vehicles they used were lost during the battle.

Fortunately, they managed emergency treatment with medical supplies, but at this rate, even the remaining unit members with injuries were at risk of dying.

So, Nathan took the risk and sent Jack and the other two relatively unharmed individuals to secure the vehicle seen yesterday.

If they had any means of transportation, they could request rescue from their main base in Fort Wayne.

However, that mission failed.

Moreover, it failed because of an unknown wanderer.

“But still, you couldn’t determine the enemy’s numbers and weapon level?”

Nathan expressed his displeasure with a grim expression.

In response, Jack bit his lips in frustration, but he had nothing to say.

From a rational perspective, Jack and the other two were just forced to retreat from a life-threatening situation in the dark.

“Enough. It’s not your fault to blame.”

Nathan sorted out his emotions like that and contemplated for a while.

But soon, a conclusion was reached.

There was only one answer anyway.

“We’re going back there. However, this time, I’ll go too.”

“Why would you do that?”

“There shouldn’t be a large number of wanderers. At best, there might be five of them.”

That was true.

Yesterday, they saw only one black van.

So, the number of enemies should be limited to the capacity of that van.

Upon this, Jack tightened his expression.

“Are you planning to fight them?”

“I’ll have to see the situation. I’ll try to talk to that wanderer. Whether to fight or not will be decided on the spot.”

Facing an unknown enemy directly on-site, judging their danger and initiating a fight.

It was a risky operation, but in the current situation where there was often less information about the enemy than before, it was a common operation.

“You two stay behind me. Me drawing this pistol will be the signal.”

Upon Nathan’s words, Jack and the other two nodded with stern faces.

Nathan strapped the silver pistol to the back of his waist.

Then, he, along with the other three armed with rifles, advanced towards the cathedral.

And above their heads, at that moment, a shadow briefly touched the sky and disappeared.

“Hmm…?”

Nathan scanned the roof where the shadow passed.

But nothing was visible.

Perhaps a bird had flown by coincidentally?

With that thought, he urged the momentarily halted steps forward.