How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“Hunter?”

“Yeah. I came to finish him off with this.”

Roman raised the gun he had strapped behind him.

What he had thought was just a large rifle turned out to be no ordinary gun.

It was an Elephant Gun, designed for hunting elephants, with a caliber exceeding 50. It was a large hunting rifle with more than 50 calibers, incomparable to the regular 5.56mm rifle rounds, carrying a massive impact.

Given that, the old man’s claim of hunting down the mutant cougar didn’t sound like mere boasting.

However, Aiden still couldn’t understand one thing.

“Why do you want to catch him?”

The old man had an attitude as if he was chasing the cougar himself.

Perhaps there was a bounty on the mutant Beast or something.

“Young people are curious about many things.”

But Roman avoided answering that question.

Instead, he casually changed the topic while scanning the surroundings.

“It seems like the cougar has been gone for a long time. Looks like another empty-handed day.”

Roman said, clicking his tongue.

Then he looked at Aiden.

“Now that I’ve told you everything, let’s go. You don’t want to be cougar food, do you?”

Roman said, seemingly annoyed by Aiden.

Aiden nodded.

Even if he didn’t say anything, Aiden had no intention of staying here for long.

“It’s late today, so I’m thinking of staying in Camden.”

“Tsk…”

The old man twitched his lips as if he were dissatisfied, but didn’t say anything else.

As Aiden said, it was too late to leave for another city now.

“Do whatever you want.”

Aiden and the old man started walking back the way they came.

There was no reason for them to travel together, but since their vehicles were in the same direction, they had no choice.

And during their journey.

“Did the conversation go well?”

Arian appeared.

She had already roughly noticed the situation at the campsite and had been waiting a bit away with Sadie.

Aiden nodded in response to her question, and Roman widened his eyes, looking at Arian.

“Who’s this kid?”

“My companion.”

“Hmm…”

Roman sighed heavily, looking at Arian as if he didn’t expect a teenager to be Aiden’s companion.

And then, glancing at Sadie standing beside her, he was even more surprised.

“Even a little kid? This is insane. Do you not know where you are!”

Knowing well the danger of this forest, Roman directed his blame that way.

If he hadn’t met him, those kids might have become cougar food.

“…”

So Roman stared at Aiden, but Aiden had no reaction.

The fact that one of these kids could fight and defeat a Beast didn’t need to be mentioned.

An awkward silence lingered, and Aiden just walked towards the road. During that time, Roman pondered something, looking worriedly at Arian and Sadie walking ahead.

Soon, the group exited the forest.

Roman’s truck and Aiden’s vehicle were both safely parked on the road.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no one passing by the road for a while.

As Roman, heading towards his truck, was about to leave, he licked his lips briefly.

“Hey.”

Roman called Aiden.

When Aiden turned around, Roman let out a deep sigh.

And after mumbling about having a hard time with them, he finally spoke at the end.

“If it’s okay with you… want to stay at my place?”

Roman said those words not to Aiden, but while looking at the other two people.

“I settled in a tough place just to avoid seeing a miserable sight for nothing. Do as you please if you don’t like it.”

Aiden didn’t say anything, but the old man added as if making an excuse.

However, for Aiden, it was a proposition he had no reason to refuse.

There was something he wanted to ask the eccentric old man.

“No, thank you.”

In response to Aiden’s answer, Roman sighed deeply once again.

Aiden, judging that Roman had considerably relaxed his guard, asked a fitting question.

“Are there any other survivors in Camden by any chance?”

“No, it’s just a city where only zombie bastards roam. Just so you know, don’t even think about going into the city. You’ll end up trampled and die under the corpses.”

Whether it was advice or a warning, Aiden nodded in response to those words.

He had half expected it.

Camden, even among small towns, wasn’t large enough to host a significant group of survivors.

So, even if the city was just a place where an old man lived alone, it wasn’t strange.

The old man got into his truck, and Aiden’s group also boarded their vehicles.

Following Roman’s truck, Aiden’s group soon headed towards the eastern outskirts of Camden.

After a short while, they arrived near the entrance of the city, where a red brick building stood alone. It was Roman’s hideout.

“Here we are. Move along the road to the door. Don’t ever stray off the path.”

He pointed to the short asphalt road leading to the building as he parked his vehicle on the road.

Besides the road, a grassy field with overgrown weeds surrounded the building.

Arian asked, puzzled by Roman’s emphasis on such a trivial thing.

“Why?”

Hearing Arian’s voice, Roman coughed once and then spoke.

“I’ve set traps to keep the Beast bastards out. Don’t step off the path; you might lose an ankle if you do.”

“I see…”

“Then come in.”

Roman opened the entrance to the hideout with a rusty key.

The iron door, equipped with three locks, made a creaking sound as it opened.

Aiden stared silently at the door.

It was a sturdy, thick door that seemed more than capable.

There were several marks on its surface, as if it had been hit by something. Perhaps there had been a battle with zombies here at some point.

Next, Aiden entered the building.

It seemed like a renovated warehouse.

The atmosphere was desolate, with no windows facing outside. So, even though it was early evening, the interior was as dark as a cave.

However, the lack of windows wasn’t a disadvantage when choosing a hideout; it was an advantage.

There was no worry about light leaking out even if they lit a fire inside.

And there was no space for zombies or wanderers to sneak in.

“…It’s a safe place.”

So, Aiden commented on it.

If they closed the door and resisted even a considerable number of zombies, it would be enough.

Roman responded with a snort.

“Safe, yeah. Sleeping here might be uncomfortable, though.”

Roman kicked the floor with his foot.

It wasn’t a typical wooden floor found in houses; it was a solid and cold concrete floor.

Although they had laid out a mattress or a blanket they had brought from outside, they couldn’t prevent the cold rising from the ground.

Luckily, it was summer, so that was a relief.

“Use this room. You can organize things however you want.”

Roman handed over one of the rooms in the hideout to Aiden’s group.

It seemed to have been a space used as a warehouse, so it was a bit messy, but there was no room to complain.

“Understood. Thank you.”

Following Aiden, Arian and Sadie entered the room.

Although it was dim inside without any daylight, Aiden took out a flashlight and illuminated the surroundings.

In the meantime, Arian and Sadie worked diligently to tidy up the area. Soon, the two of them created a well-organized space.

“…”

Aiden turned his eyes in the room and looked back at the path he had walked.

The warehouse structure consisted of four rooms lined along the corridor. Among them, the room in front of the entrance seemed to be Roman’s personal room.

And the room used by Aiden’s group was diagonally across from Roman’s room.

On the opposite side, there was another space that seemed like a warehouse. But what was there was not just random items; it was weapons.

And not ordinary ones.

There were various high-powered weapons and explosives set aside for capturing Beasts, along with the Elephant Gun that he was carrying.

Aiden, who only had ordinary bullets left, found the weapons he needed.

Additionally, there was a door at the innermost part, but it was firmly closed.

Arian, who suddenly popped up from the side, pointed towards that direction.

“There’s a smell of blood coming from there.”

“Blood?”

Aiden’s brow slightly furrowed.

He couldn’t just ignore this story.

Arian, noticing Aiden’s reaction, quickly added while clapping her hands.

“Oh, it’s not human blood. Probably from an animal.”

Hmm, Aiden nodded.

It seemed like that place was the hideout’s kitchen.

“Hunters indeed… capturing not only ordinary animals but Beasts too. We should have a meal too.”

Sadie took out canned goods and combat rations they had brought from the car.

The corn can was for Aiden.

Combat rations and strawberry canned goods were for Arian and Sadie.

Just as they were about to start their meal, Roman brought a candle.

“You’ve got something good. Don’t you need this?”

He said, looking at the flashlight Aiden was holding.

Considering the limited lifespan of the batteries, Aiden promptly accepted his kindness.

“Yes, thank you.”

The glaring artificial light turned off, and a soft glow from the candle filled the room.

In it, Roman glanced at Aiden’s group’s provisions.

“You eat that canned stuff?”

Looking at the canned goods and combat rations, he seemed displeased or something, scrunching his eyebrows.

“Sigh… fine, give me those.”

He then unexpectedly made a request.

Was he going to ask for accommodation fees now?

But Roman’s following words were different from what Aiden expected.

“Instead, I’ll give you something else.”

“If it’s something else…?”

“It’ll be much more worthwhile than those. Just wait a bit.”

He picked up the combat rations and corn can that Aiden was holding. Perhaps out of consideration for Sadie, he left the canned strawberries behind.

Then, Roman went into the kitchen, the innermost part of the hideout.

Aiden followed Roman.

As expected, there was a room with splatters of red blood here and there.

On one side of the wall, the meat of an animal was neatly prepared.

The type… was it a rabbit?

Roman seemed to be planning to make food from that meat.

If that was the case, there might be something useful for Aiden.

For a moment, Aiden went outside and brought some food from the car.

Spices like salt, sugar, pepper, and canned vegetables that would go well with the meat.

And he handed them to Arian.

“Arian, it might be good to take this.”

“You’re probably not comfortable going there yourself… understood.”

Arian went to the kitchen where Roman was.

When Roman noticed her presence, he turned to look at her.

After staring at her for a moment, he hesitated before opening his mouth.

“Why did you come here?”

“This, use it if you need it.”

Arian laid out what she had in front of Roman.

Upon seeing this, Roman gave her a faint smile and gestured for Arian to leave as if shooing her away.

“Oh, thanks. Now that here might be blood, go away.”

Arian quietly retreated from the kitchen at Roman’s words.

And after a while, Roman indeed came with dishes filled with food.

The dish was rabbit stew, much better than Aiden had expected.

“Wow…!”

Truly a dish-like dish they hadn’t had in a long time, Sadie’s eyes sparkled.

Arian also pretended not to care but had a pretty pleased expression.

Reading that mood, Roman gave them food with a contented smile.

“I’m good.”

However, only Aiden declined it.

Still wearing his helmet, he couldn’t eat in front of Roman.

Roman just nodded his head.

“But is it okay to receive this so easily?”

Aiden asked, even feeling a subtle suspicion about the excessive kindness.

But Roman reacted nonchalantly.

“Anyway, these things will rot if I eat them alone. And about half of it is the food you guys gave me.”

“…”

“Then eat.”

At his words, Arian picked up her chopsticks first.

After taking a bite, she nodded her head, and Sadie also moved.

The fragrant smell of the stew raised the expectations of the two girls.

So, they each took a bite and smiled happily.

Judging by their faces, the taste seemed to be great.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes! It’s really delicious!”

Arian and Sadie happily exclaimed.

Whether Roman liked their reaction or not, he asked.

“Is it really that good?”

“Yes, we haven’t had this kind of food in almost two months.”

“Then… do you usually only eat that canned stuff?”

Roman stared at Aiden.

“It’s not a difficult dish to make… I would’ve made something if I had the ingredients.”

Roman said as if blaming Aiden.

Of course, Aiden had something to say too.

He couldn’t cook, and it was forbidden for him to do so.

Even as a joke, it was too risky for him to make food that Sadie would eat.

But what Roman said wasn’t entirely wrong.

Aiden couldn’t appreciate the taste, so he didn’t pay much attention to the food Arian and Sadie were eating.

At best, finding decent-tasting canned goods was all he did.

At least attempting to hunt or asking Arian to cook was an effort he could have made.

“Well, that’s true. I guess I should learn how to cook.”

On the other hand, maybe Arian had the same thought as she said that.

Arian looked at Roman.

“Could you teach me how to make this?”

“That’s not too difficult.”

Roman replied in a somewhat cheerful voice.

Aiden quietly observed Roman’s attitude as if assessing it.