How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“So what do we do now?”

Seeing this, Arian asked.

This sudden encounter with other people was clearly a crisis for Aiden’s group.

They didn’t even have enough ammunition to engage in combat.

But this was also an opportunity.

Any gang capable of operating that many vehicles would undoubtedly possess food supplies.

So depending on how negotiations went, obtaining enough food to sustain Aiden’s group wasn’t an impossibility.

“I’ll make contact.”

So Aiden decided he would take the lead.

It meant directly confronting the risk, but it was unavoidable.

He had Arian fall back behind him.

Now alone, he stood in the middle of the road the headlights were approaching, raising both hands with his gun slung across his back.

Wooong!

Soon, the vehicles Arian had mentioned arrived right in front of Aiden.

They were black military transport trucks.

The kind commonly referred to as Humvees, they came to a stop a short distance from Aiden.

Fortunately, they didn’t immediately open fire, at least. It had been the worst possibility Aiden had considered, but thankfully, it seemed an excessive concern.

Following that, the door of one vehicle opened.

Four people disembarked from that truck, all of them wearing military uniforms.

Were they also remnants of a former military unit?

Aiden scrutinized them carefully.

Their armaments seemed to be in decent condition.

In the meantime, one of them approached Aiden, aiming his rifle at him.

The other three kept watch over the surroundings.

“Who are you?”

Maintaining a distance of about 5 meters from Aiden, the man questioned him.

Aiden introduced himself as a junk dealer and wanderer.

The man then asked if he had any companions.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been a fact Aiden would readily disclose, but now was the time to try and obtain food supplies.

Aiden nodded in affirmation.

“How many in total?”

“32.”

It was quite a large number, but the man didn’t seem particularly surprised.

He simply nodded matter-of-factly, prompting Aiden to continue speaking.

“We’re headed to LA.”

“Is that so? Did you hear the radio broadcasts?”

“That’s right.”

“So you want to become citizens of LA, then?”

“…Yes.”

Aiden said so while closely observing the man’s reaction.

This would determine whether he was a hostile or friendly presence.

However, the man’s subsequent actions far exceeded Aiden’s expectations.

With the hand not holding his rifle, he withdrew a black radio transceiver.

“This is A2. We’ve encountered thirty-two prospective evacuees on the eastern side of Blythe, Interstate 10.”

He reported the current situation to the person on the other end of the radio.

Some kind of response came through the radio, but Aiden couldn’t make it out.

The man then engaged in a brief back-and-forth conversation over the radio.

“…Understood.”

Soon, having finished his report, the man put away the radio.

Looking back at Aiden, he finally revealed his identity.

“We’re a territorial defense force dispatched from LA.”

At the man’s words, Aiden’s gaze wavered slightly.

His affiliation wasn’t some random gang. What he had mentioned was the nation’s administrative body, which Aiden had thought had perished long ago.

The soldier’s words continued.

“In accordance with the State Special Civilian Act, as of this time, we will provide you with protection.”

“Protection…?”

“The territorial defense force will escort you to LA and ensure your safety along the way. So we ask that you disarm and gather in one location.”

At this, Aiden hesitated for just a brief moment.

It wasn’t mere surprise he felt.

Of course, there was also suspicion.

The words this man had spoken could have been nothing but lies, with the intention of easily disposing of the wanderers they had happened to encounter.

But Aiden’s suspicion didn’t linger long.

Additional engine sounds could be heard approaching.

Shifting his gaze towards the man, Aiden saw more headlight beams in the distance.

“…”

Sure enough, these too were military vehicles.

But their number was… more than just one or two.

Arian had said around 50 people, but that must have been only the vanguard, as the number of approaching light sources kept increasing.

Those vehicles passed through the entire residential area.

Beyond the buildings the survivors had taken shelter in, Aiden could even see small armored personnel carriers on the road.

Wooong!

Another Humvee emerged right in front of Aiden.

Its driver gestured for Aiden to step aside, then indifferently drove past him once he had moved out of the way.

Following that Humvee was a large military truck carrying dozens of soldiers.

“…”

The dazed gazes of those soldiers briefly swept over Aiden.

Neither affirmative nor negative, just neutral… no, an indifferent gaze devoid of any interest.

That indifferent look extinguished the last shred of doubt lingering in Aiden’s mind.

Dozens of military vehicles and those soldiers’ apathetic eyes were not things that could be faked through mere deception. Rather, if the metropolis known as LA truly still existed and had been continuously accepting evacuees, such an indifferent reaction would indeed be plausible.

“…Very well then.”

So Aiden decided to comply with the soldier’s instructions.

At Aiden’s direction, the 32 survivors lined up before the soldier.

Looking at their haggard faces, the soldier asked:

“Do you need anything?”

* * *

Some time later.

The survivors, under the protection of the soldiers, were all loaded onto three open-topped military transport trucks.

Although the lack of a roof meant they couldn’t shelter from the pouring rain, the expressions of those survivors aboard were far from gloomy.

Before boarding, they had been given a small amount of food, providing relief to their starving states.

And among those trucks was one carrying Aiden’s group as well.

“What’s this… is this really LA?”

Arian spoke as she surveyed their surroundings.

Having traveled through the desert for hours, it had been quite some time since the trucks had entered the city area.

Finally, a signpost indicating the boundaries of Los Angeles had come into Arian’s view.

But looking around, LA didn’t seem much different from any other city they had passed through.

The roads were relatively well-maintained, but that was about it.

From the residential areas in the distance, Arian could clearly sense the presence of zombies.

“By administrative areas, yes. But their base is likely only a part of LA. It was such a massive city that they couldn’t have turned the entire area into a stronghold.”

Aiden answered her.

LA, the city of Los Angeles, had once been home to around 3.8 million residents.

But the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area centered around LA boasted a population exceeding 18 million, one of the largest in not just the United States, but the entire world.

The area Aiden’s group had entered was merely the outskirts of that vast LA region.

They still had some distance to travel before reaching LA’s downtown core.

“I see? Well… I hope we arrive soon. We are heading straight there, right?”

Arian cast a concerned look towards Sadie.

At the moment, Sadie was cradled in Arian’s arms.

Not only was it raining, but Arian had insisted on this arrangement out of worry for Sadie, who had been starving recently.

But Sadie’s condition didn’t seem too bad.

The child was simply observing her surroundings with curiosity, as if intrigued by the situation.

And after being provided with food, the hollowed cheeks that had sunken in just earlier were now regaining a bit of their healthy plumpness.

“Yes. Both the direction and route are correct. We’re headed westward.”

Meanwhile, Aiden answered Arian’s question after confirming his map and compass.

From what he could see, the trucks carrying them were indeed taking the most direct path towards LA’s city center.

“By the way, it must be an incredible place, this LA.”

Arian spoke with an anticipatory gaze.

In the past, Aiden might have dismissed Arian’s expectations as unrealistic.

But the current Aiden didn’t do so.

“Yeah. There’s a high possibility of that.”

Instead, he echoed Arian’s words in agreement.

Earlier, Aiden had posed a few questions to the soldier about LA.

According to the answers he received, LA was clearly a place that exceeded Aiden’s expectations.

The number of survivors within this LA stronghold was a staggering 2 million people. Moreover, those 2 million seemed to be maintaining a lifestyle within a society where law and systems hadn’t collapsed.

It was an almost unbelievable claim at first. But seeing the soldiers behave like civil servants from three years ago made it hard not to believe.

“I wonder how much longer until we arrive? It’s been over two hours since we entered the city.”

Arian tilted her head slightly.

If their destination was the downtown area near the center of LA, it was about 400km away from Blythe.

So even using vehicles, it wouldn’t be a place they could reach immediately.

However, the military truck Aiden was riding seemed to be traveling at a much faster pace than he had anticipated.

“At this speed… we should be arriving soon.”

It was right as Aiden said those words.

The truck, cruising along the smooth road, rounded a corner.

The view that had been obstructed by the gray exterior walls of an abandoned factory building suddenly opened up wide.

According to the map, what lay ahead was the Los Angeles River cutting through the heart of the city, and the bridge crossing over it.

“What in the world is that…?!”

Someone’s words trailed off as they caught sight of the area beyond that bridge.

Aiden’s group also turned their gazes in that direction, and everyone fell silent.

Such was the overwhelming spectacle before them.

“How tall is that, exactly?”

“It must be at least 30 meters, right?”

The survivors murmured among themselves.

What they were seeing was a white wall reaching a height of 30 meters.

And that wall stretched as far as the eye could see, following the course of the river.

Moreover, this wall wasn’t constructed from crude materials like scrap iron or wood.

It was entirely comprised of solid concrete, and that thick outer surface didn’t bear even a single visible scar.

“This is… remarkable.”

Even Aiden muttered those words as he observed LA’s wall.

He had believed that walls alone would never be enough to stop zombies, especially mutants.

At best, they were merely consumable resources that provided a defensive advantage.

He had judged that against mutants, walls would inevitably be easily breached, making them unsuitable as a complete defensive measure.

But the wall now spread out before Aiden’s eyes… it seemed to overturn his common sense.

Not even the likes of Brutals or any other mutant would be able to scale a 30-meter wall.

The truck carrying Aiden’s group was headed towards the entrance of that wall.

Near the area where the bridge crossing the river connected to the wall was a massive gate.

Spanning the entire width of a four-lane road, the gate seemed almost insignificant compared to the sheer size of the wall itself.

“It’s incredible… I guess what that soldier said earlier was true.”

As they approached that entrance, Arian let out an exclamation of awe.

She said she could sense the presence of hundreds of people just beyond this gate alone.

And compared to that, the land area enclosed within the wall was so vast that its true expanse couldn’t be discerned by the naked eye.

The number of residents living in this LA seemed incomparable to any survivor group Aiden had ever encountered.

To the point where even that 2 million estimate didn’t feel implausible anymore.

Kiiik!

The truck came to a halt in front of that wall.

Soon after, the soldier who had transported Aiden’s group began disembarking the people.

“So what will you do now?”

In front of LA’s wall, Arian posed that question to Aiden.

Aiden immediately grasped the meaning behind her query.

The people who had arrived at LA would now need to enter through that wall.

It was the destination they had finally reached after their long journey, and the time had come to witness the fruits of that voyage.

But Aiden alone couldn’t do the same.

As a zombie, he couldn’t set foot within the human domain.

Sadie looked at Aiden with a worried gaze as he briefly fell silent.

“You’re not… leaving here, are you?”

She asked Aiden, perhaps thinking he might depart at this point.

Her voice carried a hint of unease.

Of course, if LA was truly as remarkable a place as its outward appearance suggested, then Sadie’s concern would be valid.

It would mean the request from Rebecca to let Sadie live in a safe place had been fulfilled.

But Aiden still had one remaining task before he could consider the request complete.

“No, that’s not it. I need to see if this place really is as good as it seems.”

At his words, Sadie gave a faint smile.

Aiden then turned his gaze towards Arian.

“But from here on, we’ll need to move separately.”

Having anticipated those words, Arian simply nodded.

“Arian. You go inside with Sadie. Assessing the internal situation will have to be left to you.”

“Alright. And you?”

“I’ll gather information from the outside.”

“The outside? Well, you can’t enter, so you have no choice… but will there be a place suitable for that?”

It was inevitable that Aiden would have to remain outside of LA.

But there were surely limitations to what he could do beyond these massive walls.

Even so, Aiden answered nonchalantly.

“I’ll have to find out. Fortunately, the scale of this LA exceeds my expectations.”

“So?”

“It means there’s a high possibility of another group existing in the surrounding area. I’ll investigate that side.”

Aiden spoke with a hint of conviction.

Of course, his words did make sense.

A population of 2 million was an immense number, after all.

As an extreme example, just gathering the criminals who had committed offenses and fled from that city would likely amount to thousands of individuals.

So it was entirely plausible for such people to have banded together and formed their own organizations.

“But it could be dangerous.”

“Or it might be better that way. There may be information I can only obtain from such places.”

“I suppose…”

Arian let out a brief sigh as she spoke.

Having once fought against a large organization herself, she knew.

The seedy underbelly of grand, glamorous cities always started from places like that.

“Then… how will we meet up next time?”

“Let’s plan to reunite in three days’ time, at night. The location will be here.”

Aiden opened his map as he said that.

The spot he indicated was near a hotel close to the shoreline in an area called Long Beach, south of LA.

“If it’s you, you should be able to make it this far at least.”

Arian nodded in agreement with Aiden’s words.

With their respective tasks decided, Aiden approached the soldier.

Fortunately, the soldier didn’t try to stop Aiden from not entering LA.

Aiden gave Arian one final nod before distancing himself from the wall.

While a few survivors asked where he was going, Aiden didn’t respond.

In the meantime.

Kugugugugu-

Accompanied by a massive mechanical rumbling, the gate blocking their path opened.

Catching her first glimpse of LA’s interior, Arian held her breath in awe.