How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Nathan and his team soon reached the residential area adjacent to the cathedral.

Rather than heading straight to the cathedral, Nathan moved first to understand its structure.

He circled around discreetly, checking the entrance and building features to avoid being spotted.

And the results were in.

“There are two visible entrances from the outside. One on the right, and the other on the left, but the left one seems blocked.”

Jack, having completed the reconnaissance, briefed Nathan on the cathedral’s structure.

Upon this information, Nathan gathered the rest of the team to one place to avoid ambush.

Then, he gave instructions for the operation.

“I’ll approach the front in 10 minutes. I’ll try to negotiate with the wanderer directly. Private Daniel, keep your distance and follow me.”

Frank nodded in agreement.

Nathan then turned his gaze to the other two, Jack Patton and Olivia Henderson.

“Henderson, go left. Patton, go right, circling widely towards the cathedral. Be cautious and don’t reveal yourselves. Patton, especially, be attentive to my signal. Shoot the enemy without hesitation when I draw my pistol.”

“Yes.”

After conveying a few more instructions, Nathan’s team dispersed to fulfill their assigned roles.

Ten minutes later.

Nathan started moving towards the front of the cathedral according to the plan.

“…”

The roof of the cathedral came into view.

A slight tension crept into Nathan’s face.

And so, he reached the road where Jack and the others had arrived.

The spot he stood at was behind the houses facing the cathedral.

But, as reported by Jack, there were no visible coverings near the road.

Nathan didn’t hastily leave the residential area; instead, he opened his mouth loudly.

“Are you still there?”

Soon, an answer echoed back.

“…What do you want?”

Frank, who was behind, nodded at Nathan.

A low and thick voice, as if digging into the ground.

It was undoubtedly the voice they heard in the early morning.

So, Nathan spoke again.

“I am Lieutenant Nathan Cooper, affiliated with the 62nd Division in Fort Wayne. I want to negotiate with you.”

He injected his name and affiliation into the conversation and proposed meeting in person to discuss the deal.

The response didn’t come for a while.

At that moment, Nathan thought about throwing another bait.

“All right. But, you cross the road alone. If anyone else crosses, I’ll shoot immediately.”

Finally, permission was granted.

Nathan glanced at Frank and then strapped the rifle to his back, moving forward.

He raised his hand and walked onto the empty road.

A gun barrel from a window with a grille protruded outward.

“Come to the right entrance.”

The gun barrel guided him.

Nathan silently followed the instructions.

As he moved, the gun barrel that was outside the window retracted inside.

“…”

The entrance to the cathedral wasn’t very wide.

An unknown wanderer was standing in a short corridor directly connected to the entrance.

Nathan quickly observed the opponent’s attire.

Even by checking only the clothes, he could roughly estimate the wanderer’s level.

However, the wanderer’s attire was not as ordinary as expected.

While the worn-out shirt and jeans were typical wanderer clothing, the white coat worn on top and the thick gloves in hand, and most importantly, the black motorcycle helmet on the head, interfered with Nathan’s judgment.

Continuing to appraise the wanderer, Nathan focused on the gun in the wanderer’s hands.

The type of firearm was an M4 series military rifle.

Since most wanderers usually had civilian rifles, which were semi-automatic, it was quite a good armament for a wanderer.

Moreover, it seemed well-maintained, showing overall usability.

Just by appearances, it wasn’t mediocre.

While Nathan was making such evaluations, the man in front spoke.

“You said it’s a deal? What do you want?”

It was the voice of the man who had pointed the gun at him.

Nathan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

To give up monitoring the outside and greet him directly.

Could this man be alone?

“Well, from our side…”

“I’m Aiden Lee.”

The man easily revealed his name.

Nathan nodded and continued.

“We need a vehicle.”

“A vehicle? Why?”

Nathan conveyed their situation and the need for a vehicle to Aiden.

Meanwhile, he also checked the view of the worship hall through the slightly opened door behind Aiden.

There was no sign of anyone being there.

Although a few more rooms were visible inside.

Currently, there was no need to hide the fact that there were colleagues present.

On the contrary, it was a situation where he needed to create non-existent colleagues to inflate his own importance.

However, the only visible person was this man named Aiden.

As Nathan speculated that the opponent might not be alone, his unease began to grow.

“It’s a shame, but I can’t hand over the vehicle.”

Aiden rejected Nathan’s request and suggested another way.

“Instead, let’s do this. I will personally convey your rescue request to Fort Wayne. You can receive the reward there when you return safely.”

“A request? Are you a junk dealer?”

Aiden nodded.

Nathan pretended to hesitate in front of him.

“Well…”

In reality, there was nothing to think about his proposal.

Just believing his words to convey the rescue request, how would they send off this man?

If this man betrayed them, not only Nathan but also his subordinates would be the ones to die.

Therefore, he had to refuse.

“Okay, then let’s discuss the details. How much is the desired reward?”

Saying that, Nathan looked at Aiden.

His hand slowly moved towards the gun holstered behind him.

Ultimately, he chose to go into combat.

Naturally, he thought he could win.

Although Aiden seemed like an experienced veteran, in the end, he was just one person.

Believing that if he could shoot first while distracting him, he could secure the vehicle without any damage.

Just as his finger was about to touch the gun, a voice whispered in Nathan’s ear.

“It would be better to give up.”

Startled, he looked to the side.

Suddenly, there was a girl standing there.

“What…”

Nathan couldn’t hide his confusion.

He had barely three meters of space, at most, between the doors.

But Nathan had not seen this girl enter from anywhere.

It was strange.

Even if he was focused on Aiden, it was a narrow space where he couldn’t miss her.

“How did you get here-“

So, before Nathan could unknowingly ask her a question, he was speechless.

The girl’s pupils were staring directly at him.

Those were red pupils like blood, never seen before.

For some reason, the moment he felt those pupils were too ominous, an inexplicable fear took over.

“Cough…!”

Suddenly, an unreasonable terror invaded his mind.

A sudden emotional change that couldn’t be understood.

But there was no time to feel strange about it.

The eerie fear tore through his reason.

His whole body trembled as if it had turned into winter, and nausea overwhelmed him with an unfamiliar anxiety.

He felt like he was plunged into the deep abyss of the unknown for no reason.

He was about to scream like a child.

But even that was impossible.

His throat, stiffened with fear, couldn’t even breathe properly.

There, Nathan felt the anticipation of his own death.

And at that moment.

As if a taut string had snapped, the fear that had gripped Nathan’s throat disappeared.

“Ho…Huh…”

Suddenly thrown back into reality, Nathan gasped for breath.

In front of him, the girl from earlier was still staring at him with a sinister smile.

“You should give up on such foolish actions.”

The girl grabbed Nathan’s hand.

Normally, he wouldn’t tolerate a stranger touching his body.

However, Nathan couldn’t resist the girl’s hand to the end.

In the meantime, her thin, ice-cold fingers gently wrapped around Nathan’s right hand, which had stiffened in front of the gun.

And she moved his hand away from the gun, placing it in front of Nathan.

“Continue the story.”

Saying that, the girl stepped back.

As if to say, her part was done here.

Nathan stared at her in amazement.

His mind, still confused, hindered his thinking.

“Nathan Cooper?”

It was Aiden who called out to the perplexed Nathan.

The black-helmeted figure silently faced him.

Only now did Nathan realize that he wasn’t in a state to focus.

“Oh… why, why did that happen?”

“I’ve already explained the request cost. Will you accept?”

Aiden was talking about the request. Yes, he was clearly discussing such matters.

Nathan barely recalled the situation before meeting the girl.

“Sorry. Could you say it one more time?”

So, Nathan discussed the request conditions with Aiden.

Unlike before, Nathan was now serious, attempting negotiation.

His demeanor had completely changed.

“How long does it take to get from here to Fort Wayne?”

“We’ve repaired all the nearby roads. We should arrive in two hours at the latest.”

Aiden nodded satisfactorily at Nathan’s words.

The distance from Lima to Fort Wayne was about 100 km.

If the roads were in good condition, it wouldn’t take more than two hours, as he claimed.

“Then we’ll leave immediately. If what you say is true, the rescue team should be able to arrive today.”

“Yeah. We’ll… go back to the base and wait. Hurry as much as possible.”

Saying that, Nathan left the cathedral with unsteady steps.

Aiden silently observed his retreating figure.

Unlike when he first came here, Nathan was now casually showing his back to Aiden, who had a rifle.

Clearly different movements, full of openings.

Aiden turned his gaze towards Arian.

“…What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything special. Just… heightened the fear in his mind a bit. He’ll recover soon.”

Watching Arian speak so nonchalantly, Aiden let out a bitter laugh.

It wasn’t such a simple explanation to say that she just heightened the fear.

Aiden knew that Nathan intended to engage in combat.

It was after Arian had returned to the cathedral and relayed all their conversations that Nathan had planned to engage.

But just before that, Arian had intervened, and Nathan had frozen in place.

Watching from the side, it seemed almost like Arian was controlling his mind.

“You know how to do that?”

“It’s not such a great ability, really.”

“…Don’t use it recklessly in Fort Wayne.”

“I know that much. Anyway, we avoided unnecessary combat as you intended, right?”

Despite its dubious nature, Aiden couldn’t deny that the peculiar ability had played a role in resolving the situation.

Not only did they avoid a direct confrontation, but if they were indeed part of the military stationed in Fort Wayne, this was an opportunity to incur a favor.

“We should prepare to leave here.”

“Got it. I’ll bring Sadie.”

Aiden promptly gathered his belongings and moved to the vehicle.

Arian headed towards Sadie, who was hiding in a room inside the cathedral.

Soon, they left Lima and headed for Fort Wayne.

The road to the destination was, as Nathan claimed, in good condition.

Not only were there no obstacles blocking the road, but even the trash that had always been visible on the road gradually disappeared.

It felt like they were driving on a road before the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse.

“They’ve done a pretty good job of cleaning the road.”

Arian commented as she looked at it.

However, for a large gang, road maintenance in the surrounding areas was essential.

“If you constantly need to go out to find resources, the road must be in good condition.”

Saying that, Aiden turned the steering wheel to the left.

In the large city of Fort Wayne, the area actually surrounded by walls and controlled by the military was limited to a part of downtown.

It didn’t even cover 10% of the entire Fort Wayne.

However, compared to the strongholds of most gangs, it was quite large.

Aiden and his group had to use the south gate, according to Nathan’s advice.

Aiden considered that the gatekeepers of Fort Wayne might not believe him, and he had discussed countermeasures with Nathan.

Therefore, Nathan instructed Aiden to go to the south gate, where he had an acquaintance.

“Hey there.”

So, a sturdy steel barrier came into view in front of Aiden’s group.

As a gang that needed to defend against outsiders, it was different from the makeshift barriers most gangs created with scrap metal.

It was a proper barrier made of gray concrete.

Moreover, its height exceeded 5 meters.

Even a considerable zombie… no, a quite powerful mutant would find it difficult to easily climb over that barrier.

Aiden parked the car in front of the barrier, seemingly flaunting it to those who were on guard and cautious about outsiders.

“Wait here.”

Aiden said that to Arian and Sadie, then got out of the car.

Carrying only one rifle, he approached the barrier.

“Stop!”

As he approached a certain distance, a firm command came from inside the barrier.

There were a few small holes in the barrier that allowed a view from the inside.

Through those, five gun barrels were pointed out, focused on Aiden.

Aiden raised both hands obediently.

“State your affiliation and name!”

“Aiden Lee, I’m a junk dealer.”

“Reason for your visit?”

“Nathan Cooper.”

Aiden bluntly mentioned Nathan’s name.

There was no need for lengthy explanations.

He shouted the information he had brought.

“Lieutenant Nathan Cooper has requested support!”