How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“The 14th floor has been breached. The first defensive line seems to have fallen.”

Arian, surveying the surroundings from the rooftop, spoke those words.

While she searched the surging tide of corpses in the darkness for any sign of Fear, she didn’t miss the sounds coming from below either.

On the other hand, Aiden only let out a heavy grunt in response.

It wasn’t unexpected.

Even from this rooftop where he stood, he could confirm the sight of Brutals forcing their way into the apartment.

“…Not easy, is it?”

He muttered as he checked the remaining high-caliber ammunition.

From this position, Aiden had been relentlessly sniping towards the area below the building.

As a result, he had managed to take down a considerable number of mutants, but there was a limit to what he could do alone.

The mutants approached from all sides of the building, and their numbers were substantial.

Particularly, the Brutal he had just allowed inside was one of two Brutals that had simultaneously advanced from the south and east sides of the building.

While Aiden had desperately tried to silence one before it could enter, the other had ultimately succeeded in breaching the defenses.

“How long can the 16th floor hold out?”

“…Hard to say.”

There was a heavy tinge of worry in Arian’s voice.

To that question, even Aiden couldn’t readily answer.

The Brutal that had just invaded the building was merely the beginning.

Arian had already confirmed over 10 Brutals heading this way, and that was just the ones she could see.

Even if Aiden managed to stop half of them, the defensive line would still have to face the remaining five.

And considering the other mutant types besides Brutals… the defensive positions were inevitably going to be overwhelmed eventually.

Well, that was only natural.

The operation Aiden had proposed wasn’t intended for them to defeat the hundreds of thousands of zombies from within this apartment in the first place.

The advantages of the apartment’s narrow staircases, the properly placed explosives, the erected barricades, and accumulated ammunition – all of it would eventually be depleted.

In other words, this operation was essentially a race against time to hunt down Fear before those resources were exhausted.

“It won’t fall easily. But… it can’t hold out forever either.”

“Then…”

“So we need to end this before that happens.”

“…”

Arian bit her lip slightly.

It all came down to whether she could locate Fear in time, after all.

Arian peered intently through the scope she hadn’t taken her eyes off since earlier, surveying the view visible from the rooftop once more.

But Fear’s figure still couldn’t be seen anywhere.

The number of Brutals, which could serve as a clue to its presence, also remained unchanged from before.

Two to the south of the apartment, six to the west, and three to the southwest.

The only thing that had changed was their positions.

Slowly but surely, like a ticking time bomb, they were gradually closing in on the apartment. Drawn by the incessant gunfire and explosions echoing from here.

The momentary restlessness Arian had felt suddenly turned into a sense of dissonance.

Among the eleven Brutals she had been observing…

Only one remained in the same location as before.

“Huh…?”

Arian tilted her head slightly.

That Brutal’s position was in the shopping district about 2km away.

Too far for human eyes to make out properly, even with a scope.

But Arian’s vampiric vision in the darkness could discern even that creature’s expression with clarity.

Its grotesquely twisted face, the muscular bulk that had burst through its tattered skin, and those massive, trembling fists.

All of it appeared no different from the other Brutals.

Except that this one was half-buried in the shadows of a two-story large store, glaring in this direction.

As if engaged in a staring contest with Arian’s invisible gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

Reacting to the words Arian had unconsciously let slip, Aiden responded.

Arian relayed to him exactly what she had witnessed.

“…!”

At that, Aiden’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

Taking the scope from Arian, he looked in the direction she had indicated.

“How long has it been there?”

“About 10 minutes or so.”

It was strange.

2km was certainly a distance, but not far enough to be shielded from the thunderous blasts and flames erupting from this apartment.

Moreover, Brutals were not known to be docile mutants capable of calmly enduring such stimuli.

Rather, they were monsters that would rampage and demolish everything in their path, even without any provocation.

Just watching the other Brutals from different directions trampling the zombies obstructing their path proved that this one’s composure was clearly abnormal.

In other words, that Brutal might be related to Fear.

However, this alone wasn’t enough to pinpoint Fear’s exact location.

And it was too far for even Arian to detect any signs of its presence.

Did this mean they needed to scout it out directly?

For Aiden, that would be difficult, but Arian might have a way.

“Arian. By any chance-“

It was at that very moment, as Aiden was about to speak to Arian.

Something suddenly burst forth from the shadows of the building where that Brutal had been lurking.

Aiden’s words were cut off.

Holding his breath, he focused his attention on the view through the riflescope.

What initially appeared was another Brutal.

The presence of two aggressive Brutals in the same place…

But there was no time to find that suspicious.

Following them, Hedgehogs, Wielders, Rhinos, and even mutant types Aiden didn’t recognize came swarming out.

And amidst those mutant escorts, Fear finally revealed itself.

“Heh…!”

A hollow chuckle escaped Aiden’s lips at the sight.

A physique larger than even a Rhino, muscles more developed than a Brutal’s, and bones that had grotesquely grown into an armor-like carapace.

Fear’s physical appearance undoubtedly matched the information Aiden had obtained about it.

However, what defied Aiden’s expectations was the clothing it was wearing.

“Was it an organism with that level of intelligence?”

Aiden clicked his tongue as he spoke.

At first glance, Fear’s outward appearance was almost comical.

Like a cartoon caveman wearing roughly torn animal hides, it had simply draped large black cloth pieces over its body and head.

But upon closer inspection, those cloth pieces were not ordinary fabric.

They were all shredded military-grade bulletproof vests, with intact ballistic plates clearly visible through the torn outer layer.

Fear had sewn together multiple bulletproof vests to create its own clothing and hat.

“…”

At this, Aiden had to elevate his assessment of Fear’s potential danger.

He had initially evaluated Fear as simply possessing slightly higher intelligence than other mutants.

At most, the intelligence of an exceptional beast capable of building nests and leading hordes.

But now he could see that wasn’t the case.

Fear clearly possessed intelligence beyond that level.

Not just for being able to make clothing.

The fact that it had specifically obtained and worn bulletproof vests meant…

It either understood or remembered the purpose of those bulletproof vests.

Absolutely not the kind of thinking an ordinary zombie could comprehend.

“Hey, Aiden. You don’t think this Fear creature can… actually talk, do you?”

Having reached a similar thought, Arian posed that question.

To this, Aiden pondered briefly before shaking his head.

While intelligence may remain, its humanity had likely been lost long ago.

After all, Fear’s infamous reputation had existed even before Aiden’s arrival.

It was a mutant responsible for killing countless people, so there was no way any semblance of humanity lingered within it.

And even if that weren’t the case, an existence that led zombies to slaughter humans could hardly be called humane.

“It doesn’t matter either way. Our task remains the same.”

That’s why Aiden answered as such.

Arian nodded in agreement.

“Then, I’m going right away.”

The original plan had been for Arian to immediately engage Fear upon spotting it, swiftly eliminating the creature.

However, just as Arian was about to leap down from the rooftop, Aiden held her back.

“Wait.”

“Why?”

“I’ll be moving as well.”

Arian wore a puzzled expression at those unexpected words.

“You? What for?”

“From here, the distance is too far for me to provide support. So I’ll find a closer sniping position.”

The distance to Fear was 2km.

It wasn’t an unreasonable range for a sniper rifle to fire at.

Most modern sniper rifles had an effective range exceeding 1km, and 2km was just shy of their maximum range.

There were even official records of successful sniper shots beyond 4km.

However, those were the effective ranges against human targets.

To pierce the skulls of Brutal-class mutants or above, which were tougher than steel, Aiden knew that even high-caliber rounds couldn’t reliably reach beyond 1km.

But to Aiden’s words, Arian shook her head.

It would ultimately mean spending more time, after all.

The situation had already reached the point where gunfire was starting to erupt from the second defensive line on the 16th floor.

Arian’s heart was gripped with urgency.

“Don’t worry about support. I have… enough blood for this.”

Arian said as she gestured towards the large spheres of blood floating around her.

All of it had been acquired by trading away their food supplies with the wanderers earlier.

And as she said, the amount was quite substantial.

Certainly more than Aiden had ever seen her use in previous battles.

But even that wasn’t an abundant quantity by any means.

Considering the number of mutants Fear was leading, it would likely be a precarious amount at best.

This was a point Aiden didn’t overlook.

“With that much blood, it might be a close call just to take down the surrounding mutants, don’t you think?”

“…”

“Don’t be too hasty. The defensive lines won’t fall easily. And don’t underestimate it either. Its strength might not simply be a step above Brutals.”

Realizing her intentions had been seen through, Arian let out a brief sigh.

“…Got it. Then, in that case, you let me move you instead. That would be faster, right?”

Saying so, Arian extended her hand towards Aiden.

It would only waste time for Aiden to travel on foot from this apartment, so Arian was offering to directly transport him herself.

If such a thing was even possible, there was no reason to refuse.

It meant being able to fly like he had wings, without needing to descend from the apartment or pass through the mutants.

But Aiden still had absolutely no idea how Arian actually moved in that manner.

A vampire melting into the darkness only to suddenly reappear at the edge of his vision was something he could never comprehend.

“…I’ll take you up on that.”

Even so, Aiden accepted Arian’s outstretched hand.

Such was the extent of his trust in her.

But then, Arian suddenly gave a mischievous grin.

Aiden’s trust wavered slightly at that.

Immediately after, Arian leapt over the railing of the apartment rooftop, dragging Aiden’s arm along with her.

Whuk!

Aiden and Arian plummeted straight down from the rooftop.

However, right after that, their figures vanished as if erased from midair.

* * *

A short while later.

Through his scope, Aiden was observing the zombie-packed firing range before him.

His current location was atop the high lighting poles of a baseball stadium.

While the platform was somewhat narrow, there was no better vantage point to snipe at the zombies passing along the road.

“…”

As he adjusted the scope’s zero, Aiden recalled the events from earlier.

The moment he had leapt off the rooftop together with Arian.

Even now, Aiden didn’t understand what had happened to him then.

All he knew was that his vision had inverted, the surrounding scenery shattering like puzzle pieces,

before reassembling itself by the time he realized it, already standing in this new location.

According to Arian, only a few dozen seconds had passed. But during that time, Aiden had no recollection of whether he had been walking or anything. All he felt was a sense of nausea, despite being undead himself.

Truly an inexplicable experience.

Not a particularly pleasant memory, at any rate.

And not something to dwell on right now, so Aiden shook his head and refocused on the task at hand.

“…It’s here.”

The baseball stadium where he was positioned was about 500 meters away from the shopping district where Fear had been spotted.

Having finally emerged from that area and begun moving in earnest, Fear was just now appearing within Aiden’s line of sight at that intersection below.

Aiden’s finger applied a slight pressure to the trigger.

But he didn’t fully pull it yet.

The operation was meant to begin with Aiden’s firing.

So he had to let Fear approach close enough, without giving it an opportunity to escape.

“…”

While Fear’s path was densely packed with zombies, unlike the other mutants, it didn’t need to trample through them.

As if the undead were citizens parting to avoid obstructing a king’s procession, the zombies automatically dispersed to the sides as Fear stepped onto the four-lane road, creating an open path.

Watching the road instantly clear, Aiden clicked his tongue in contempt.

It truly looked like the corpses were bowing before their sovereign.

With that level of intelligence, was it deriving some twisted pleasure from this?

An absurd notion.

Bang!

Having judged Fear to be within effective range, Aiden’s bullet was finally discharged.

The heavy recoil pushed against his body, while the thunderous gunshot resounded like thunder among the corpses.

But even faster than that gunshot, Aiden’s bullet reached Fear.

Baaang!

Accompanied by a metallic clang as if striking a tank’s armor, the bullet ricocheted away.

The initial shot had failed, but Aiden didn’t fret over it.

He had expected as much, ever since he saw Fear protecting its head with ballistic plates.

However, unlike Aiden’s composure, Fear reacted violently to having its head grazed by the bullet.

“??-!”

The sudden ambush provoked a roar of fury from the creature.

Despite the considerable distance, Fear immediately pinpointed Aiden’s location.

Its frenzied gaze locked onto Aiden with such intensity, as if it might charge over and uproot the very light pole Aiden was standing on.

But it couldn’t act on that impulse.

Twack!

With a sickening sound, the head of a nearby Rhino was severed.

Arian had burst forth from the darkness, charging straight towards Fear’s neck.