How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“My name is Asher Thompson. I didn’t intend to harm you. I swear.”

The man who introduced himself as Asher said that.

However, Aiden showed no reaction to his words, as a mere oath meant nothing. Instead, he continued with his question.

“Then why did you follow us?”

“We had to figure out if you were affiliated with anyone.”

“Affiliated?”

“Yeah, like gangs or self-defense groups… things like that. But it doesn’t seem like you’re part of those kinds of groups.”

Asher said that while looking over Aiden, Arian, and the vehicle behind them.

Aiden and Arian’s composition seemed odd for scouts of any group.

A white-coated man with his face hidden by a helmet and an underage Asian woman.

Moreover, the van they had arrived in wasn’t a vehicle suitable for scouting.

It couldn’t move separately, and its maneuverability in urgent situations was relatively poor.

If it were really for scouting, they would have ridden motorcycles instead.

At first, Asher had thought they might have sent a combat team of nearly ten people, but only two people got out of the vehicle.

At that point, Asher had already inwardly realized they didn’t belong to any group.

After all, carrying miscellaneous items instead of people in a van was the quintessential look of a junk dealer.

“I already told you we don’t belong anywhere.”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t believe that.”

At those words, Aiden silently glared at Asher, as if asking why he should believe him.

Asher then stiffly cracked his neck a few times and opened his mouth.

“Do you know Lewisville Lake?”

Aiden nodded.

That was also a lake on the northern outskirts of the city known to have a survivor group.

“There was a gang we periodically cooperated with there. But… recently, that gang was wiped out. We don’t know the reason. But our contact who always visited that place brought us the news. Of course, we directly confirmed it afterwards… it was true.”

“So?”

“So, it’s obvious what happened next. Who could have taken down that gang? Zombies? No, the gang that was wiped out was like us, based on the lake. Zombies can’t approach there. This was clearly the work of humans.”

Asher stated with certainty.

After hearing that much, Aiden finally understood what Asher was trying to say.

“You’re saying you thought we might have attacked that gang.”

Asher nodded.

“We needed to be wary of you. But it seems like the misunderstanding has been cleared now. So let him go. If you do that, I won’t do anything.”

Aiden silently looked at Asher, who spoke those words.

To be precise, there was no evidence to back up his claims.

However, Aiden judged that their words made sense.

If they had truly intended to attack Aiden’s group, the distribution of personnel seemed odd.

The number of gun barrels Aiden had seen at the yacht club was definitely five.

Yet, only three of them had actually followed Aiden’s group.

If an attack was intended, that distribution should have been the other way around.

Moreover, they had even missed several opportunities to attack.

Especially when Aiden’s group was about to get out of the vehicle, that would have been the most opportune moment to strike.

Yet they had blatantly watched the entire process unfold, suggesting their words could be true.

So Aiden decided to test them.

“…Then put down your guns first.”

At Aiden’s demand, Asher gestured to the woman.

The two of them then lowered the guns they had been aiming at Aiden and Arian.

Confirming this, Aiden nodded once towards Arian.

“…”

Understanding Aiden’s intention, Arian’s eyes quietly shone.

She moved the machete away from the man’s throat and released him.

“Whew…!”

The man who had been held hostage immediately took quick steps towards Asher’s side.

Arian stared intently at Asher and the other woman welcoming the man.

The distance between them was only about 10 meters.

If they were lying and tried to attack Aiden’s group, it was close enough for Arian to sever their necks before their gun barrels could even rise.

“You thought well. They’re people we can talk to.”

Fortunately, such a situation didn’t occur.

As promised, Asher and the other two didn’t act hostile towards Aiden’s group.

They simply cast guarded glances in this direction.

Just as Aiden was about to retreat, thinking it was over, Asher spoke up.

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

Aiden only nodded in acceptance of his apology.

At Aiden’s plain attitude, Asher raised one corner of his mouth.

“By the way, are you really junk dealers?”

“Of course.”

“Well then, it’s good. I have a request I’d like to entrust you with. Care to listen?”

Arian let out a chuckle at Asher’s brazen attitude.

They had their guns and blades aimed at each other’s throats just moments ago, and now he was talking about a trade.

However, Aiden was accepting Asher’s proposal.

“I’ll take any request.”

Aiden walked towards Asher with heavy steps.

The guns that had been aimed at each other were now slung over their backs.

Seeing the two of them acting as if nothing had happened, Arian felt bewildered.

Were all the people living in this world accustomed to such sudden shifts in stance?

But even Asher’s companions seemed unable to grasp what to do, their faces perplexed.

Realizing she wasn’t the strange one, Arian inwardly felt relieved.

“Just to make sure, is this all of your companions?”

“There’s one more in the vehicle.”

“Yeah?”

In the meantime, the two men were conversing as if in casual chatter.

Without explicitly mentioning that Sadie was a child, Aiden simply answered.

“Where are you from?”

“Shreveport.”

“Ah, from the Union, then.”

Asher seemed to be aware of the Union as well, saying that.

He looked at Aiden with a puzzled expression and asked:

“Wouldn’t it have been better to stay there? Why did you come all this way?”

“…”

Aiden, who had been answering questions readily, closed his mouth.

And Asher wasn’t unaware of why the junk dealer suddenly fell silent.

“Well, you’re quite tight-lipped for a junk dealer.”

Asher took out the rifle he had slung over his back.

Seeing this, Arian briefly tensed up, but Asher only removed the magazine from the rifle.

“How many rounds for the information?”

Asher spoke while holding the magazine.

He was suggesting exchanging that many bullets as payment for the information.

However, Aiden’s response was slightly different from his expectation.

“I should at least receive that entire magazine.”

Asher’s brow furrowed slightly.

He couldn’t tell if Aiden was joking or being serious.

However, judging that this was also a way to gauge the junk dealer’s nature, he obediently handed over the entire magazine to Aiden.

“Alright, I’ll give it to you. Now tell me.”

“A civil war broke out in the Union. It was quite serious.”

At the first sentence, Asher’s face stiffened.

Aiden then proceeded to inform him about the approximate cause of the civil war and its progression, sharing the information he knew.

After the detailed explanation that seemed impossible to have been made up on the spot, Asher asked in a low voice:

“Is that… all true? Any proof?”

“Not exactly proof, but I do have this.”

Aiden held out a clean metal plate.

It was an identification plate issued to junk dealers by the Union.

While now a useless item, it could serve as proof that Aiden had directly stayed within the Union.

“Do you recognize it?”

“Ha… damn… yeah, I know it.”

Asher was also familiar with this identification plate.

Although not frequently, he had traded with junk dealers active in Shreveport on multiple occasions.

After confirming this, Asher wiped his face with his hand.

That a civil war had occurred there wasn’t something Asher could simply brush off from his position.

The Union was an enormously large group incomparable to the small group Asher led.

So if the Union collapsed due to this incident, or even if a part of it broke away from the Union, it was inevitable that countless refugees would flood all the way to Dallas.

“This is the first time I’ve felt it wasn’t a waste to pay a junk dealer for information.”

Asher fell briefly silent as his mind rapidly processed the situation.

After waiting for Asher’s thoughts to settle, Aiden finally spoke again after sufficient time had passed.

“Anyway, you said you had a request to entrust me with.”

“…Right, I did.”

Asher let out a short sigh and cleared his throat.

Deciding to deal with the immediate matter first and set aside his other thoughts for now, he opened his mouth towards Aiden.

“Yeah, I want to give you a request. As for the content… well, you can probably guess, right?”

“…”

“What I said earlier wasn’t made up. It was all true. So, I want you to investigate the identities of the ones who attacked Lewisville Lake. They’re definitely humans, but we can’t figure out where they’re from.”

“You want me to find the invaders’ base?”

“If it’s difficult, even clues would be enough. Of course, they need to be reliable clues. And there are some items we need from the Lewisville Lake base. If you can retrieve those, there will be separate compensation for that.”

After grasping the gist of the request, Aiden nodded.

Although somewhat vague, it wasn’t a request he couldn’t accept.

With that in mind, Aiden began further negotiations on the detailed content and compensation.

“…Alright. I’ll accept it.”

After all the discussions had concluded, Aiden finally nodded.

In his hands was a vial of blood.

He had already taken the blood of the three people here as an advance payment for this request.

Asher seemed puzzled as to why Aiden would accept blood as an advance payment, but he didn’t press further when Aiden didn’t explain.

“Right. When you’re done with the job, come back here. I’ll greet you normally next time.”

After finalizing the negotiations, Asher leisurely returned to the riverside with his companions.

Aiden and Arian also headed for their vehicle.

As they boarded the vehicle again, Sadie, who had been quietly waiting, spoke up.

“Is everything okay now?”

“Yeah, it went well. Sorry, were you hot?”

As soon as she returned, Arian checked on Sadie’s condition.

Due to the heat and having to wear a bulletproof vest and helmet inside the vehicle, Sadie was drenched in sweat.

The vehicle immediately started moving.

It was only after they had returned to the embankment they had crossed that Sadie was finally able to take off the protective gear.

“Haah…”

With her lightened body, Sadie let out a long sigh as the lake breeze hit her.

As she wiped the child’s sweat with a cloth, Arian looked towards the approaching landmass across the embankment and asked:

“Are we going straight to the gang’s base that was wiped out?”

Aiden shook his head.

The Lewisville Lake where the gang was supposedly located was to the north of the city.

But of course, they couldn’t pass through the zombie-infested city.

So Aiden had to circle around the outskirts of the city and approach from the north.

To do that, the distance they had to travel was considerable.

Circling the perimeter of the massive metropolitan area, even with a conservative estimate, would span dozens of kilometers.

It was already past 2 PM, and covering that entire distance alone would be a challenge.

“No, I’ll just find a hiding place in that area first. We’ll start the investigation tomorrow.”

So Aiden said that.

Arian nodded, and their vehicle continued along the extended embankment.

As a result of their hurried movements, Aiden’s group was able to secure a temporary base that day at an abandoned real estate office north of Lewisville Lake.

* * *

The next day, Aiden’s group set out for Lewisville Lake early in the morning as planned.

Beside Aiden were not only Arian but also Sadie.

“It should be around here somewhere…”

Aiden muttered as they reached the riverside leading to Lewisville Lake.

To approach the gang’s base in the middle of the lake, a boat was naturally required.

The one who had arranged that was their client, Asher.

He had informed Aiden of the location of a boat that his group frequently used to make contact with the gang at Lewisville Lake.

“Is that it over there?”

Arian pointed to a boat lying abandoned near the lake.

Aiden immediately checked the condition of the boat.

It was a small and extremely old boat.

It was the most basic form, a wooden boat with a motor attached, but even that had its paint peeled off, making it look unsightly.

“Are you sure this… is okay to ride?”

Arian asked, referring to its dilapidated appearance.

However, its exterior matched Asher’s description from the previous day.

The fuel for the motor was also properly prepared.

It seemed undoubtedly the vessel used by Asher’s companions.

“We’ll find out once we launch it into the water.”

To prevent the boat from drifting away, Aiden and Arian pushed the boat, which was resting on the dirt ground, towards the lake.

The boat then wobbled precariously as it floated on the water’s surface, rocking like a canoe.

Aiden, who had boarded first, tried starting the motor.

Vroom! Vroom vroom!

The motor immediately started without any issues.

Seeing the boat operating smoothly, Arian frowned in displeasure at its unimpressive state, but Sadie beamed and boarded the boat, seeming to look forward to riding the decrepit vessel.

Letting out a sigh, Arian also boarded.

“Let’s depart.”

At Aiden’s words, the boat began moving.

Although not at a rapid speed, the boat glided across the water more smoothly than expected.

“Wow…!”

Seated at the very front, Sadie exclaimed as the boat cut through the lake.

Arian gazed fondly at Sadie’s reaction, while Aiden remained vigilant, surveying their surroundings for any potential threats.

“How far do we need to go like this?”

“About 8 kilometers.”

Lewisville Lake was an elongated lake stretching vertically.

So Aiden’s group, departing from the northern end, had to travel a considerable distance.

“That’s quite far. Will this boat hold up?”

“Let’s hope so. More importantly, the city will soon come into view. We might be able to visually confirm the situation inside.”

As he said, the forested scenery surrounding them soon ended, revealing the cityscape adjacent to the lake.

Residential areas and parks only a few dozen meters away came into view.

However, Arian’s face stiffened upon seeing them.

Even Sadie, who had been enjoying the view from the boat until moments ago, shrank back in fear.

“Oh… that’s…”

Unable to even let out a wry laugh, Arian muttered.

What was densely covering the residential area was none other than zombies.

But their density was at an incomprehensible level.

In the residential area near the lake, far from the city center, zombies were lined up at intervals of nearly 1 to 2 meters.

The visible number alone was at least in the thousands.

Even for Aiden and Arian, engaging such a vast number of zombies in combat was unthinkable.

“…We have to give up on entering the city.”

Observing the enormous number of zombies, Aiden spoke.

Amid their astonishment, the decrepit boat continued drifting smoothly across the tranquil lake.