How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

There was still a distance of several dozen meters, but the number gathered in an instant looked like dozens, at least… around thirty.

Nairik quickly aimed his rifle at the zombies’ heads.

The heads of the rushing ones were shaking beyond the sights as if crazily running toward them.

Then…

Bang!

Aiden fired a quick shot.

A zombie running along the road about fifty meters away collapsed as it was.

“Wow…!”

It was an amazing shooting skill.

Upon witnessing it, Nairik swallowed his saliva and calmly aimed at the nearest zombie.

He couldn’t afford to stand by.

And then, a gunshot echoed in his ears.

Fortunately, one zombie that was rushing toward them turned its head back and fell.

That’s how Aiden’s group continued shooting.

Fortunately, the majority of the zombies were concentrated in the north.

Thanks to Aiden’s group clearing the zombies in the shopping district, zombies rushed only through the road to the north. So, the zombies running through the limited passage became easy prey for Aiden’s precise shooting.

Aiden fired shots almost every second.

Zombies were swept away by the storm of bullets, and their numbers rapidly decreased.

By the time his magazine was almost empty, there was no one standing on the ground except Aiden.

“Phew… is it over?”

“It seems like it.”

Nairik lowered his gun, taking a deep breath. He looked at Aiden, who was gazing at the corpses scattered on the road.

From Nairik’s perspective, it was an astonishing shooting skill that could only be described as amazing.

Aiden fired several times faster than his own shooting speed, and not a single one of his bullets missed.

“Is it over?”

Following that, a somewhat relaxed voice reached him.

It was Arian.

Somehow, she had already managed to crush the door she had been pounding on.

The door she had been tapping on was now lying on the ground, twisted and deformed.

“…”

Once again, Nairik was amazed.

How could someone crumple a door as thick as a finger with an axe? It was definitely not something that could be done with a single axe handle.

However, before Nairik could say anything, a voice came from behind.

“Then let’s go in.”

Aiden urged him in a low voice.

As if the voice was telling him not to ask anything, Nairik simply nodded silently.

Led by Aiden at the forefront, the group entered the store that had been closed for three years.

“…”

The building, completely sealed without a single window, was pitch dark.

Pop!

To illuminate the darkness, Aiden turned on the light attached to the end of his rifle. The corridor between another door leading from the back door was revealed.

Looking at the door leading to the store, Nairik felt a slight sense of excitement.

He unknowingly anticipated what might be hidden inside, untouched by anyone for three years.

Squeak-

Fortunately, the door on the inside was not locked.

Aiden cautiously opened it, revealing the interior of the store.

“Ah…”

Upon seeing it, Nairik let out a short groan. Contrary to his expectations, the shelves in the store were all empty, bathed in darkness.

“Hmm…”

Aiden also sighed.

It would have been good if the supplies were left untouched, but it seemed like the owner had at least made some effort to organize and leave this place.

“For now, it’s best to search the surroundings.”

But disappointment was premature.

The post-zombie society was a chaotic time, as chaotic as it could be described.

The previous social order had collapsed with a bang, and even the subsequent order hadn’t been properly established.

So, it was likely that the owner of this place couldn’t leisurely take away all the supplies.

“Do you have any light sources?”

Aiden asked Nairik.

However, he shook his head.

“No, I don’t have any.”

It wasn’t that Nairik had forgotten to bring it. He simply didn’t have such an item.

While tools for illuminating darkness were useful, be it LED lights or even small candles, they required consumables like batteries or lighters.

For ordinary survivors who barely managed to find and eat food and water, obtaining such items was a luxury.

Understanding this, Aiden nodded.

“Then let’s move together.”

So, Aiden and Nairik moved together, while Arian walked separately in the darkness.

Aiden first entered the empty store. Even though the shelves were empty, there was something underneath.

“This is…”

What he found was a cardboard box.

He tapped it with his foot, and it wasn’t empty. However, clear traces of black liquid were visible underneath.

Probably, it was a dried-up, once-flowing rotten liquid.

There was no need to open it; it probably contained decaying food from a long time ago.

“…”

Aiden turned away without hesitation, not dwelling on it.

Something like a black cockroach scurrying across the floor could be seen.

At this, Nairik’s brow furrowed.

But Aiden didn’t care and this time he went to the front of the store.

Near the checkout counter, there were several boxes piled up, about the height of an adult.

“Hmm…”

Aiden examined it closely.

Most of them were similar to the decaying food boxes he saw earlier, containing items like cabbage and potatoes. Difficult to preserve for a long time and not very valuable.

It seemed that the owner of this place had wisely selected the materials to take away even in the midst of chaos.

Aiden cleared away the boxes that were piled up.

Almost all of them were worthless trash.

However, one of them, in the corner, was different.

Its weight alone was substantial. What could be seen inside the torn cardboard box was clearly a plastic bottle.

Upon inspection, it turned out to be bottled water, unopened and untouched, appearing undistorted even in the pitch-darkness.

“Found something useful.”

There was a whole box of such bottled water, about 40 liters in quantity.

Nairik smiled at the unexpectedly abundant harvest.

However, no matter how much they searched, the ammunition Aiden was looking for was nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, it seemed that there were no bullets left in this place.

“There’s something here.”

At that moment, Arian, who was rummaging through the freezer behind the mart, called out to the group.

Whether the items had spilled due to being piled up or if someone had taken the supplies from the warehouse, various canned goods were scattered on the floor.

The number of these canned goods was in the tens.

“Here too. Isn’t this quite a lot?”

In a corner of the warehouse, boxes of a well-known brand of canned ham were discovered.

Although it wasn’t a type favored by people, it was a high-calorie canned food that had once been a wartime supply.

“This… We can’t take all of this.”

Seeing this, Aiden said.

Even if they could manage the 40 liters of bottled water, adding canned goods made it impossible to carry. It was not only the weight but also the lack of a bag to carry it all.

So, Aiden decided to selectively take only a few items.

It wasn’t a large quantity. It was less than 10% of the discovered supplies.

So Nairik asked:

“Are you leaving all this behind?”

“Yeah. Is there anything wrong with that?”

Aiden replied, looking at Nairik.

Aiden had mentioned earlier that once today’s mission was over, he would immediately leave for the next city. In other words, all the remaining supplies would be Nairik’s share.

Hearing this, Nairik asked with a somewhat uncomfortable expression:

“Are you sure about this?”

“It’s not like I can carry everything. We can’t even fit this in the car. We’re not here to settle down.”

Aiden didn’t just altruistically offer supplies to Nairik.

If it were ammunition or weapons, he might have made an effort to take them, but food and water were not that scarce to begin with.

So here, they would replenish only what they had used. There was no need to accommodate more supplies.

“…”

Nairik remained silent, seemingly touched. Aiden quickly added, sensing a possible misunderstanding:

“Of course… There has to be some compensation.”

“Compensation? I don’t have enough bullets, so I can’t give you much.”

“That’s not it. Do you happen to consider donating blood?”

Aiden explained the process of blood donation, specifically targeting Nairik.

Nairik quickly nodded his head.

“My blood is not that difficult to give. But… No, it’s nothing.”

Nairik cut off his words. He had intended to ask why they needed blood, but he didn’t want to pry until the other person spoke first.

Surely, there must be some reason.

Aiden, like that black helmet he was wearing even in this dim place, had undoubtedly convinced him. Understanding this, Nairik kept quiet.

“Then let’s go back.”

Aiden and the group left the store, taking their harvest of the day.

“…”

While retracing their steps, they headed back to their hideout.

During this time, a smile never left Nairik’s face; his biggest concern had been the ample supply of food and water.

Meanwhile, on the way back, Aiden stopped at the vehicle to load the group’s share of supplies.

He also placed the vehicle supplies found in the miscellaneous store around the car. This was to prepare for maintenance on the vehicle just before departure.

Now, all that was left was to bring back Sadie.

“How about staying one more day today?”

At that moment, Nairik suggested such an idea. It was appreciated, but it wasn’t necessary. 

It wasn’t even noon yet.

Even after fixing the vehicle, there was still plenty of time to leave.

However, just before rejecting his proposal-

“…”

Arian grabbed Aiden’s sleeve. With a sharp gaze, she gestured towards the direction of the inn where the hideout was.

It indicated that something had happened there.

“Let’s discuss it after going back.”

So Aiden immediately left in the vehicle towards the hideout.

Across the street from the inn, on the opposite side of the courthouse, the commotion took place.

“Ah, another day of Zaid crying.”

Nairik commented with a bitter smile. However, Aiden responded with a stern voice:

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“What?”

“I need to unload the baggage for a moment. Looks like something’s going on.”

At this sudden statement, Nairik looked puzzled, but he followed Aiden’s instructions. The two cautiously circled around the courthouse.

Finally, they reached a point where the inn was visible.

“People?”

There were three unknown men standing in front of the inn’s door.

Two of them were holding guns, while the other one was trying to break down the door with a hammer.

“We know someone is inside! Come out!”

One of the men shouted.

The one with the hammer smashed the inn door as if endorsing the threat.

However, the sturdy door, like iron bars, did not break easily. Perhaps that’s why they started shooting towards the building.

Sudden cries could be heard from inside.

The situation was clear.

Unknown wanderers were trying to invade the inn.