The six of them moved forward cautiously, their bodies coated with a special ointnt that masked their scent. As long as they didn't make any noise, they'd be fine.
The zombies on the outskirts weren't densely packed, so as long as they avoided them, they wouldn't attract attention.
From a distance, Chris spotted a few zombies standing in the middle of the street. They swayed unsteadily, their expressions blank and almost foolish.
The group hugged the walls, moving slowly and quietly. Using abandoned vehicles as cover, they planned to circle around the zombies from behind.
But just as they were halfway through, Sean's stomach suddenly let out a loud grumble.
"Uh…"
Chris and the others froze instantly, their expressions changing as their hearts leapt into their throats.
The sound wasn't particularly loud, but zombies had unnaturally sharp hearing.
The swaying zombies imdiately stopped in their tracks. They stiffened, their heads tilting slightly as low growls rumbled from their throats. It was as if they were trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.
Mia's sharp eyes narrowed as she prepared for a fight.
The rest of the group crouched behind the wrecked cars, holding their breath. No one dared to make the slightest sound.
Thankfully, after a tense mont, the zombies seed to lose interest. They returned to their sluggish, swaying movents, their blank expressions back in place.
"Phew…"
Chris and the others exhaled in relief, quickly moving to bypass the dangerous area.
Once they were far enough away, one of the Awakeners muttered nervously, "Sean, you almost got us killed back there!"
"I was hungry, okay?" Sean replied, completely unapologetic.
Chris quickly stepped in to calm things down. "Alright, let's focus on the mission. Once we find the supplies, there'll be food for everyone."
"Yeah, yeah," Sean grumbled, but the thought of food seed to energize him. He started daydreaming about it—imagining the mont he'd sink his teeth into a piece of bread, washing it down with an ice-cold soda. Pure bliss.
With that motivation, the group pressed on, moving carefully.
So far, things were going relatively smoothly. They managed to avoid wave after wave of zombies. When necessary, they even climbed onto rooftops, moving across tiles like assassins straight out of Assassin's Creed.
Still, Chris couldn't shake his unease. The deeper they ventured, the more dangerous it beca. They were now in the heart of the area, where the zombies were more evolved and far more perceptive.
According to the updated intel from Genesis Biotech, this area had been classified as a five-star zombie nest.
"Woo… woo… woo…"
Suddenly, the sound of a woman crying echoed through the air. The wailing was sharp and eerie, rising and falling in pitch like a banshee's lant. It was the kind of sound that sent chills down your spine, as if it ca straight from the depths of hell.
The six of them were lying flat on a rooftop. They imdiately turned toward the source of the sound and spotted a female zombie kneeling on the ground, her head bowed as she sobbed.
"Holy…" Chris sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body breaking out in goosebumps. The sight was utterly horrifying.
"I'm starving, and I'm not crying. What's her problem?" Sean muttered, craning his neck to get a better look.
"She's probably hungrier than you," Mia replied dryly.
"We can't go that way. We'll have to find another route," Chris said decisively.
The female zombie wasn't alone. Around her were dozens of other zombies, their movents quick and deliberate. They weren't the sluggish, mindless kind—they were clearly highly evolved.
Besides, the group they were tracking—the ones who had looted the supplies—couldn't possibly be hiding here. If they were, they'd have been torn apart by the zombies long ago.
The six of them were just about to take a detour when Laura, with her unnervingly sharp senses, seed to notice their gaze. Her hair hung loose, covering most of her face, leaving only one eye visible. Suddenly, she whipped her head around to look directly at them.
The mont her eye locked onto them, her pupil contracted to a pinprick, making her look even more terrifying.
"Hehehehehehe~~~" The eerie crying abruptly turned into a sinister laugh.
In a flash, Laura's figure blurred as she bolted toward them like a gust of wind.
"Damn it! We've been spotted!" Chris's face darkened, his heart pounding with fear. He had never encountered a zombie this horrifying before.
As Laura charged, her sudden movent startled the nearby zombies.
"ROAR—"
Hundreds of elite zombies let out deafening howls, forming a small horde as they surged forward in a frenzy. Their movents were swift and agile, and with just a few leaps, they were already scaling the rooftops.
Even though the six of them were perched high above, it was no longer a safe haven.
"What do we do now?" Chris asked, panic creeping into his voice. For once, he was out of ideas.
Mia, however, remained calm. "What else? We fight our way out."
"Got it!"
The group, all Awakeners with Neurocore-enhanced abilities, drew alloy blades from their belts. These weapons, specially crafted by researchers, were both durable and razor-sharp, capable of cutting down high-tier zombies. Enjoy new adventures from empire
But even with their weapons, the sheer number of elite zombies made them uneasy.
Even Mia, the renowned Awakener from Refuge 001—hailed as the strongest among them—couldn't guarantee victory. There were simply too many zombies. Even a lion could be overwheld by a pack of wolves.
And to make matters worse, among the horde was Laura, a terrifyingly agile zombie queen.
Laura's figure darted closer and closer. The recent peace in the area had left her and her kind restless. Boredom had driven her to the brink of madness—so much so that she had cried out in frustration earlier.
Now, finally spotting prey, she was ecstatic.
But just as she was about to reach her target, a voice echoed in her mind.
"Wait. Don't kill them… yet."
"Huh?"
Laura's rapid charge ca to an abrupt halt. It was the voice of her leader. As much as she craved bloodshed, she had to obey. Reluctantly, she cast a lingering glance at Chris and the others before veering off to the side.
"What the…"
Chris's entire body trembled. He knew he'd never forget the haunting, resentful look in that female zombie's eye.
But what happened next left them even more stunned.
The once-raging zombie horde suddenly quieted down. One by one, the zombies dispersed, retreating in all directions. Within monts, the entire horde had vanished.
"What just happened?"
The six of them were dumbfounded. It was the first ti they had encountered anything like this.
They had been ready to fight to the death, prepared for a desperate last stand.
And yet… the zombie tide had simply lted away.
"Oh, I get it now," Sean said, nodding as if he'd cracked the case. "They were just trying to scare us."
"…" Chris was speechless. "Why would they bother scaring you? There's got to be sothing else going on."
"What kind of 'sothing else'?" Mia asked, equally puzzled.
Still, a thought crossed her mind: maybe this world wasn't always as bleak as it seed. Sotis, it offered small, unexpected surprises.
At that mont, a tall figure appeared at the end of the street. He was strikingly handso, his sharp eyes scanning the group.
Ethan's gaze landed on Mia. As he looked at her, her face began to overlap with a mory from his past. Childhood scenes played out in his mind, one after another, pulling him back to a ti long gone.
"It's been a while," he said softly.
"Uh…"
Mia froze. After spending ten years in a psychiatric facility, her heart had long since grown cold and unfeeling, like a slab of ice. But now, seeing that familiar figure, her heartbeat quickened.
That face… it carried so many mories. mories of warmth, of fleeting happiness in a life otherwise filled with despair.
Sean, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He rembered Ethan vividly, and his unique eyes were already welling up with tears.
In this desolate, post-apocalyptic world, running into a childhood friend felt like a miracle.
Without hesitation, Sean leapt down from the rooftop and landed in front of Ethan.
"Ethan! It's really you! I can't believe we're eting here!"
But Chris and the others weren't so quick to celebrate. The more they thought about what had just happened—the retreating zombies, the strange behavior—the more uneasy they felt. Adding to their suspicion was the resemblance between Ethan and a figure they'd seen in blurry photos circulating online.
"Sean! Be careful! He might be a zombie!" Chris warned.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Sean snapped, clearly annoyed. "How could you say that?"
He was visibly upset. After all, this was his childhood friend, soone he hadn't seen in ten years. To hear him accused of being a zombie was infuriating.
"Ethan isn't a zombie! My eyes are like zombie detectors—I'd know if he was one!" Sean declared confidently.
…
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