How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

As they approached the entrance to the trading zone, two guards with guns blocked the way.

Aiden showed the metal plate Ayla had given him to the guards.

“Is this enough?”

After glancing at the plate, the guards nodded towards Aiden’s helmet and stepped aside without further inspection.

Perhaps it was because it was outside the barrier.

They seemed not to conduct a separate body search.

If they had, it would have been inconvenient for Aiden, so it was fortunate.

“Now, find a suitable merchant for trading. Any more questions?”

“Where can I receive requests?”

“Over there, in the innermost tent. It’s called the Trading Post.”

Aiden confirmed the tent Nathan pointed to with his eyes and nodded.

Nathan continued:

“Are you planning to take on military requests?”

“Of course, that’s a given.”

“Then… what about the girl during that time?”

Nathan glanced at Sadie for a moment.

Sadie avoided eye contact slightly, and Aiden responded indifferently:

“Take her with us.”

“Taking her? While handling requests?”

“Is there any other way?”

As Aiden asked this, Nathan sighed briefly.

After a moment of consideration, he spoke again.

“Inside the barrier, in the residential area, there’s a facility for taking care of children.”

“…”

“I’ll inform the Trading Post. You probably won’t be able to enter, but leaving the girl in the facility temporarily should be possible. Of course, you’ll have to pay for it.”

Aiden hesitated at Nathan’s words.

It was an offer he hadn’t dared to hope for.

Of course, leaving Sadie with someone else was a burdensome task.

But this city was one of the candidate cities where Sadie might live, uncertain about her future.

The opportunity for her to experience life inside the city was invaluable.

“I appreciate that.”

Aiden expressed his gratitude sincerely, and Nathan just nodded slightly.

With a tired expression, he turned away from Aiden’s group.

His task was now complete.

“Well then… thanks for today. I hope you stay safe.”

Nathan left Aiden’s group like that.

Aiden, who had been briefly watching his back, turned his gaze and observed the atmosphere in the trading zone.

“…”

Most people wandering around the trading zone had worn-out attire.

They also had sharp glares and faces tired to the point that even the stench of not having washed for a long time could be sensed.

It was a completely neglected state, but it was also the typical appearance of junk dealers.

In contrast, the shop owners inside the tents were in a relatively neat condition.

The operating side, they said, had relations with the military.

Aiden then proceeded to survey the surrounding shops.

The variety of goods being traded here was more diverse than Aiden had expected.

Not only food and water, but also a few types of firearms were on display, albeit in limited quantities.

Besides gasoline, consumables like tissues were available, and there were even places selling clean clothing.

Although they didn’t offer explosives, including grenades.

Even Aiden’s group, who were relatively laid back among wanderers, couldn’t just pass by without feeling tempted by the items here.

“Are they using ammunition as currency?”

The price for each item was determined by the number of bullets.

With enough ammunition, one could purchase all the goods.

And conversely, there wasn’t a single store exchanging goods for ammunition.

If all the shop owners were calling themselves military personnel, the intention was clear.

The military was short on ammunition.

Aiden kept this in mind and decided to go to the Trading Post where requests were submitted.

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, Arian, who was beside him, had a deeply contorted expression.

Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be terrified by the overwhelming foul smell emanating from all directions.

It was understandable.

Even the faint rotten smell inside Aiden’s helmet wouldn’t be noticeable here, where the stench of junk dealers pervaded.

Moreover, Arian was a vampire with cognitive abilities surpassing human levels.

Her suffering was entirely comprehensible.

“This way.”

So, Aiden decided to leave this place quickly for Arian’s sake, if nothing else.

He led the group towards the Trading Post inside the trading zone.

There, several military tents were spread out, and among them, the largest tent served as the Trading Post.

Inside, numerous wooden boxes of unknown content were piled up, and soldiers with disinterested faces sat at folding desks next to them.

In one corner, there was a large bulletin board.

An old-fashioned blackboard was used, with chalk and everything.

What was written on it was the information about the requests Aiden was looking for.

“Hmm…”

Aiden perused such requests.

Each request had a combination of alphabets and numbers assigned as the request number, and most of them were related to transporting materials.

Things that the military needed or rewards for bringing back damaged military supplies.

Indeed, it seemed like these were the kinds of requests that might be hanging around in a place like this.

It was convenient to leave them to junk dealers, and there was no need to provide special information.

However, these were not the kind of requests Aiden was looking for.

“Is there anything useful?”

With wrinkles still present on her forehead, Arian asked.

Arian, too, was unaware of the reason why Aiden’s group had come to Fort Wayne.

Aiden’s group needed to investigate the organization known as the 62nd Division, which had taken root here.

The purpose was to determine whether this place was suitable for Sadie to settle, based on the results of their investigation.

However, Aiden couldn’t deeply involve himself with the 62nd Division.

This was because he was a zombie, and as a result, he had to indirectly gather information by skirting around the organization.

His intention to handle military requests was part of such an act.

So, he chose a request that could indirectly extract information from the military.

“It seems like it.”

Having discovered this, Aiden sought out a soldier sitting next to the bulletin board to inquire about detailed information.

The soldier was a young man who had just reached his twenties, or so it seemed.

When he stood in front of the desk, the soldier looked up at Aiden with a chubby face.

“I want to ask about Request C-12.”

It was a request delegated to confirm and deal with some mutant that had settled in the city.

The location was quite close to the public library in the western part of the city.

Moreover, the reward offered was quite high.

Higher than expected, considering what was left until now.

On the other hand, upon hearing Aiden’s words, the soldier let out a short sigh.

“What is it?”

His tone wasn’t very friendly.

However, since it wasn’t something to pick a fight over, Aiden asked his question.

“There was no information about the mutant. What exactly is the variation?”

“I don’t know.”

Hmm. Aiden clicked his tongue.

An unidentified mutant.

If that was the case, it explained why the reward was high, yet no one had taken the request.

“Then, do you have any eyewitness information?”

“Our scouting unit passed by the area and saw everything. So… “

The soldier closed his eyes briefly, as if trying to recall the memory.

“Suddenly, filth spewed out from inside the library, and one of the patrol members hit by it died instantly on the scene. The other one got infected and was eventually put down. That’s all the information we have.”

Aiden listened to the story and smirked.

Although the soldier referred to it as an unidentified mutant, Aiden was familiar with this variation.

A Vomiter.

It was the same mutant he had heard about when buying information from the Merchant Cooperative Association in Pittsburgh.

A large-bodied creature with slow movements that spat bodily fluids from its mouth.

It was said to be filled with toxic gas inside, making it dangerous even after being killed.

At that time, it was reported to have been discovered in Cleveland, and it seemed that information hadn’t reached this place.

On the other hand, the soldier in front of Aiden either thought he was hesitating or thought he was contemplating something and spoke a few more words.

“Even without that, there were many people asking about this request. But I don’t recommend it. It’s a dangerous request.”

Although the soldier said that, Aiden, who had knowledge about a Vomiter, didn’t agree.

If that creature really was a Vomiter, it was a perfect match for Aiden, who was a zombie.

The bodily fluids it spat and the toxic gas inside couldn’t be fatal to Aiden, who was already a zombie.

Just be cautious about the pressure of the bodily fluids when it spat.

“No, I’ll take the request. What do I need to bring?”

“It’s a part of the body. Something that can prove it’s not a regular zombie. And you need to provide information about the mutant.”

Aiden nodded.

There were a few disappointing aspects, but overall, the content was acceptable.

He posed another question.

“Got it. But… can we gather information here?”

“It depends on what information you want. What are you looking for?”

“Information about a mutant I don’t know about. Also, I’d like to find out about the situation in the surrounding cities.”

“If that’s the case, you can ask that guy over there.”

He pointed to another soldier wearing worn-out glasses.

Perhaps he played a role in information gathering.

Aiden decided to keep that in mind and moved on to the next topic.

“I heard we can leave a child here.”

“Oh, you must be the ones Lieutenant Cooper mentioned. That’s correct. You’ll have to pay a fee, though.”

“How much?”

“60 rounds of 5.56mm standard ammo per day. For special ammo, it’ll be a bit cheaper.”

“…That’s expensive.”

Fortunately, Aiden’s group had already stocked enough ammunition in Canton.

With that, Aiden’s group soon left the trading area.

It was already late in the day, and the sun had set.

Although Aiden’s group had arrived in Fort Wayne in the morning, a significant amount of time had passed while waiting for Nathan to be rescued.

Therefore, the actual execution of the request would start tomorrow.

For now, the priority was finding a temporary base to stay.

“Staying around here should be fine for today.”

Finding a base turned out to be easier than expected.

The area around here had already been cleared of zombies by the military.

There was no need to move away from the barricade; they just needed to find a building that was still intact.

The only potential threat was other scavengers who might be thinking of staying nearby.

However, with Aiden capable of providing security through the night, there was nothing to worry about.

A night passed like this.

Aiden, who had been searching the trading post since morning, decided to temporarily leave Sadie in a facility within the military.

“Are you sure about this?”

Aiden asked Sadie in front of him.

He had already explained his intentions to leave her here in detail.

However, Sadie was still just a child, and despite logically understanding, she might feel uneasy alone.

“I’ll be fine. Please take care.”

Contrary to those worries, Sadie responded confidently to Aiden.

Seeing this, Arian petted her head as if finding Sadie cute and said:

“Alright.”

Aiden nodded firmly and left it at that.

Soon, the two bid farewell to Sadie, who entered the military facility, leaving the trading area and watching Sadie’s back as she entered the barricade.

Observing this, Arian spoke up.

“Even if we come back in a while, they won’t suddenly decide not to return Sadie, will they?”

She seemed quite worried about leaving Sadie in someone else’s hands.

However, Aiden firmly shook his head.

“There’s no way.”

“Why? She’s so cute.”

“A child doesn’t contribute much to the organization. It might even be burdensome for them. Besides, there’s no reason for them to take Sadie away.”

That was one of the reasons why Aiden decided to leave Sadie here.

If it were a vehicle, as Arian mentioned, there might be a chance they wouldn’t return it.

However, in this world, a child was, coldly put, not worth such trouble.

No matter how hard Sadie tried, she couldn’t fight like an adult, and her labor wasn’t significant.

Moreover, she couldn’t handle everything alone, and having additional help would consume even more resources.

Not to mention, she wasn’t mentally strong, making her nothing but a burden to the organization.

So, Aiden judged that there was no reason for the military to take Sadie away.

Thanks to this judgment, he could leave Sadie by paying for ammunition.

“What’s with you? Saying Sadie is a burden?”

However, Arian sharply reacted to that statement.

Her voice was slightly raised.

“I didn’t say that much.”

“Then what?”

“A child is just a child. While not as affectionate as you, I recognize the value and duty to protect. That’s why it’s a burden. If she were truly a burden, wouldn’t I have just abandoned her?”

Tutting, Arian clicked her tongue and hesitated in her words for a moment.

It was a calm but realistic answer.

There was no place to nitpick, as he pointed out.

However, she soon warned Aiden in a somewhat threatening tone.

“Try saying that burden thing in front of Sadie.”

There was no need to respond.

Even though he was a zombie, he still had that level of discernment.

Aiden knew how much effort Sadie was putting in to not become a burden within this small group.

Perhaps Arian, having witnessed the child’s efforts up close, had spoken sharply for that reason.

“More importantly, it’s about the job. You roughly know what we’re going to catch, right?”

Aiden changed the subject.

Arian nodded with a composed expression.

Since he had already shared information about a Vomiter with her a while ago.

Arian also noticed the identity of the mutant as soon as she heard the details of the request.

“Then let’s go.”

Saying that, Aiden walked towards the vehicle.

Arian followed behind.

They soon began moving towards the Fort Wayne downtown public library, the location of the request.