How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 86



Arian and the mutant, after a brief clash, took a few steps back.

Then, it stared intently at its rifle.

It had barely collided with a small piece of metal, but the rifle body was nearly cut in half.

“Guuugh!”

As if unable to comprehend the situation, the creature’s horrifying face twisted in confusion.

Then, it lifted its head, eyeing a small prey.

Not just zombies, but a crimson-haired girl with an inexplicable aura was there.

However, Arian paid no attention to its gaze, and with a tingling sensation, she flicked away the approaching arm.

The creature’s strength was stronger than expected.

With this level of strength, it surpassed even the superior mutants, approaching the levels of a Wielder or Brutal.

“It’s customary, Sergeant Smith.”

“Graaaa!”

Arian called out the name of the mutant, lips curling.

The one whose name was called could no longer hold back, and the mutant with elongated arms grotesquely swung a rifle and a shield towards Arian.

Splat!

The once simple rifle turned into a blunt weapon, flying towards Arian.

Like a curved blade attached to a whip, a black weapon traced a curve and dug into space.

Arian immediately twisted her body.

With a sharp tearing sound, it narrowly avoided Arian’s upper body.

Thunk!

Simultaneously, Arian pounded the ground.

But seemingly aware of her movements, Sergeant Smith’s shield blocked her path.

A titanium suppression shield, typically used by special forces, weighing tens of kilograms and originally equipped with wheels for mobility.

Sergeant Smith wielded it with one hand.

“Tch…!”

Realizing the strength of the shield that even blocked a fired bullet, Arian bit her tongue.

Nothing was impossible.

But to do so, a considerable amount of blood would be expended.

Was there a need for that?

Arian didn’t ponder this question for long.

The crimson sphere floating next to Arian swayed fiercely.

Like a thread unraveling from a bundle, a streak of crimson streamed from it, wrapping around Arian’s machete.

Even in the darkness, the sinister blade shone brightly as it aimed at Sergeant Smith’s shield.

“Kiiii!”

Watching Arian jumping towards him, Sergeant Smith screamed.

Mutants had a certain level of intelligence.

Because of that, it understood.

With something like a human sword, breaking through this shield, harder than rock, was impossible.

Common sense accepted at an instinctive level, not by intelligence.

But right after that.

Krrrrr!

The common sense even zombies understood was denied right in front of their eyes.

Accompanied by a sound of metal tearing through metal unheard before, the sinister blade of the machete split the titanium shield into two.

And not just that, the blade of the jungle knife, digging even further, mercilessly severed Sergeant Smith’s wrist holding it.

“Gra!”

The zombie screamed like a shriek.

Now sensing the imminent crisis, Sergeant Smith tried to swing the rifle to drive Arian away.

However.

Swish!

A sinister crimson shadow that covered Arian’s entire body, not just the blade, looked indifferently at Sergeant Smith.

And then-

Slash!

Arian’s figure in front disappeared for a moment.

At least, it seemed so to the mutant that had been targeting her.

He immediately turned its head to find Arian.

However, its body didn’t move.

Attempting to cry out in confusion, even that didn’t happen.

Gradually, its vision tilted, and suddenly it flew into the air.

“…”

Dirty and with his nose buried in the filthy floor, Sergeant Smith couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

Thud!

At that moment, a sound of something collapsing was heard.

It was the sound of a headless body hitting the floor a beat late.

Next, footsteps were heard.

They stopped right beside Sergeant Smith’s head, and someone personally rolled its head to make eye contact.

Crimson eyes were staring at mutant’s.

In her hand, a machete was gripped in reverse.

As if ready to strike its head down at any moment.

“Rest now, Sergeant Smith.”

The mutant, once again called by the name, contorted its face.

It no longer recognized that it was its name.

But that resonance was oddly familiar, and it touched a nerve.

Anger surged.

“Ki-“

Squelch!

Once again, the machete pierced Sergeant Smith’s face as it tried to scream.

With that, the mutant in the underground warehouse fell silent.

“Hu…”

With a short sigh, Arian turned her attention to her surroundings.

Fortunately, there were no other signs besides her companions.

Arian glanced at the crimson sphere floating next to her.

Unlike before, the now completely shrunken sphere was now the size of a fist.

At most, there might be around a liter left.

Considering the blood expended in coming this far, she had consumed over 3 liters of blood just in the battle against Sergeant Smith, the mutant.

However, Arian felt no regret.

It was a worthy adversary.

Above all, the shield it carried was tricky, and delaying could have been disadvantageous.

But even so, she emerged victorious.

It was a testament to her repaying the trust of her companions who believed in her.

So, with a confident voice, she called out to them.

* * *

“Well done.”

Aiden spoke first to Arian.

He, too, had been closely watching her in action.

Thus, he fully understood how dangerous the new mutant, strangely named ‘Sergeant Smith’ by Arian, was.

Following that, Sadie comforted her for her efforts.

Under the encouragement of such comrades, Arian nodded with a proud expression.

“But the amount of blood is running out.”

Looking at the floating crimson sphere, Aiden remarked.

“If we encounter another mutant, we should retreat immediately. Is that okay?”

Both Sadie and Arian nodded in agreement.

There wasn’t much blood left now.

Engaging in another battle with such a foe would be too reckless.

“Alright.”

Saying so, Aiden picked up the fallen ballistic helmet of Sergeant Smith.

Unexpectedly, Sergeant Smith’s helmet was different from those of other zombies.

It wasn’t a military product but a civilian one.

From its structure to the additional attachments around the helmet, it differed from the standard military equipment.

“Hmm…”

Aiden held the helmet in his hands.

It looked like a usable helmet.

Flipping it over, it fit perfectly when he tried it on.

“If I attach the face shield covering the eyes and the chin guard, I could completely conceal my face like a helmet.”

Moreover, these items were just among the miscellaneous items left behind in the room they had passed through.

If they could retrieve them on their way back, it would be a fantastic ballistic helmet.

Motorcycle helmets weren’t bad, but they lacked ballistic performance.

This Sergeant Smith’s helmet could be considered a superior version.

“It’s good to wear, but can we clean it a bit?”

Pointing to the helmet’s surface covered with zombie fluids, Arian spoke.

She wasn’t wrong.

Aiden took off the helmet separately, nodded, and said:

“Let’s explore a bit more.”

Aiden’s group crossed the door inside the restaurant and went further inside.

Perhaps because it was Sergeant Smith’s area, another intersection appeared where there wasn’t even a single zombie left.

A corridor split into left and right.

At the end of each corridor, there was a room.

It seemed like this was the end of the underground warehouse.

Moreover, there were no zombies anywhere.

“Let’s check this side first.”

Aiden opened the door to the right room.

A creepy sound came from the latch as it opened.

“This is… the commander’s office, perhaps.”

Aiden said after briefly scanning the surroundings.

A wooden table in the middle, an emblem and a large map hanging on the wall, it was undoubtedly the room where the commander had stayed.

“Can we take this?”

Arian asked, pointing at the map.

A large military map in the shape of a square with a side length of over a meter.

It detailed the topography of Memphis and Tennessee, with Memphis at the center.

To the west, adjacent to Arkansas.

Also, the topographical features of Mississippi to the south were intricately recorded.

“Well, the condition isn’t bad. It could be useful.”

Although it wasn’t the material they were looking for, it was a substantial gain.

Aiden carefully took the map and rummaged through the commander’s desk and drawers.

Fortunately, many documents and books were left intact.

Most of them were not valuable documents, such as general knowledge books or military textbooks.

But just one.

In a file with the red letters ‘Confidential,’ there were some decent pieces of information.

“This is…”

It was a file that depicted the deployment of the U.S. military nationwide at the time when the zombie outbreak occurred.

Among them were details about the 62nd Division stationed in Fort Wayne, not just Memphis.

Aiden calmly read through the file.

The next destination was a survivor group located to the west of Memphis.

If the next destination wasn’t suitable, he considered using this file as a basis.

Of course, this was information from three years ago.

Not all military bases would have been well-maintained like Fort Wayne.

Now, they might find nothing but deserted bases, just like this underground warehouse in Memphis.

But to Aiden’s group, even that wasn’t necessarily a loss.

Military bases in this world were dangerous, but at the same time, they signified the presence of a lot of resources.

So, if there were no clues, having this file as a minimum reference point wouldn’t be a bad idea.

That was his judgment.

Aiden checked several nearby military bases, most of which were to the south, near the coast.

“Sea, huh…”

From Memphis to the coast in the south was approximately 700 km.

It wasn’t a close distance, but viewed conversely, it wasn’t that far either.

They had unexpectedly come to a place they hadn’t thought about.

However, considering Mississippi, which was adjacent to Memphis in the west.

Thinking about the southern tip touching the sea, it wasn’t surprising.

The worrying part, though, was that Aiden hadn’t heard anything about the situation on the coast.

Of course, when he was in Pittsburgh, there was a sea to the east, but.

New York, located on the eastern coast, was the origin of the zombie outbreak.

This place was somewhat different.

Moreover, even New York, with some survivors daring to sail across the sea, didn’t reach the coast unscathed.

No one among them had heard stories of anyone returning alive.

“Why, heading towards the sea?”

Arian, who was examining the file that Aiden was holding, asked.

“It could be. If it’s the coast, there might be a lot of people gathered.”

“Not a bad idea. Besides, it’s gotten quite hot lately, hasn’t it?”

It sounded like a suggestion to go to a resort.

Aiden added, shaking his head.

“It’s going to be dangerous. The idea of finding a boat on the coast and escaping to a safe island is something anyone might think of.”

“That’s true. But then again, it might be a complete mess.”

Arian said as if she already knew.

And she was right.

Zombies couldn’t cross the sea.

So, in the zombie apocalypse, the coast might be a hopeful escape route.

Perhaps people from all over the United States constantly flocked there, drawn by that hope.

But that was precisely the problem.

The basic principle of survivor groups, represented by gangs, was to control a certain area and monopolize the resources within it.

However, if a continuous influx of wandering individuals occurred there.

The monopoly of resources in a specific group was inevitably bound to be broken.

In other words, the possibility of conflicts among survivors was very high.

“There might be an enormous number of zombies. Even if there’s a survivor group, they’ll probably be extremely violent, having survived many wars.”

“But we can’t avoid it.”

Aiden nodded at Arian’s words.

Perhaps cities near the coast would be empty by now.

Just like they fled to the west to escape zombies in Pittsburgh.

They would have left the inland to avoid zombies, most likely.

So, if they wanted to meet people, they had to head to the coast.

“What about Sadie? Have you been to the sea before?”

Arian asked Sadie, who was searching through a small drawer.

Sadie nodded.

“Yes. I went with my parents when I was little.”

Sadie grew up in New York.

As a city bordering the sea, she probably saw the sea quite often, even at a young age.

“Do you like the sea?”

“…Yes, I do.”

“What did you do when you went there?”

Arian and Sadie then shared stories about the sea.

Perhaps the sea was a place where Sadie had memories with her parents.

Sadie, conversing with Arian, seemed a bit brighter than usual.

Leaving them like that, Aiden explored the room.

A while later.

No more information or supplies came out from the commander’s office.

So, Aiden went to the room on the opposite side of the intersection.

There… a supply warehouse.

Despite its name, it seemed almost empty, but fortunately, there were some remaining supplies.

“This is for eating, right?”

Arian pointed at something spread out under a large wooden box.

Aiden confirmed it and nodded.

“It’s combat rations.”

Commonly known as MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat).

Despite its infamous taste in the past, it was military combat rations with very high calories compared to its volume and weight.

Even though it was notorious for its taste, it was several times better than eating canned ham or sardines as they were.

“Has it gone bad?”

“It should be fine.”

The expiration date of MRE varies significantly depending on the storage temperature.

Shorter, around a month, usually about three years.

In that regard, this underground warehouse was a cool place that could significantly extend the expiration date.

Moreover, no sunlight entered, so there was little concern about spoilage.

There were more than twenty MREs scattered around in the warehouse.

For Aiden’s group, who came here looking for provisions, it was the best harvest they could hope for.

Furthermore, they secured several hundred rounds of 5.56mm ammunition from small ammo cans rolling around in the corner.

Unfortunately, there were no bombs like grenades, but even this much made it worthwhile for them to come here.

“Let’s head back now.”

Having gathered the supplies, Aiden’s group left the underground warehouse.

The vehicle that carried them left Memphis and began moving westward.


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