How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Iron Sight’s base, an abandoned military facility, was sprawled across a large park in the northwest part of Houston’s city center.

Three years ago, it had originally been established with the purpose of aiding Houston’s citizens.

Perhaps for that reason, one side of their base occupied a major road, while the opposite side was adjacent to the city center.

Moreover, Aiden had heard that due to the frequent wars that had driven away not only people but even zombies, the zombie density in Houston’s city center was lower compared to other cities.

“…”

Which was why as Arian looked upon that Houston cityscape, a tinge of regret emanated from her gaze.

If there had been a proper survivor group here, staying in this place might not have been so bad – that was the thought that crossed her mind.

However, Arian’s regret was far too futile.

Another war was about to unfold right here.

As a major city, Houston’s downtown had originally been a forest of skyscrapers exceeding 60 floors in height.

But now, the number of buildings still maintaining their former towering stature could be counted on one hand.

Most had either completely collapsed or been partially demolished amid the wars, leaving the once glamorous city center in utter ruin.

And the building Arian was standing on was no exception.

This business plaza, which had once boasted 71 floors, now had only about 20 floors remaining above ground.

The other 50 floors were tilted and crumbled to the side, as if forcibly torn apart by a giant.

As a result, the pillars and steel beams that had supported the structure jutted out grotesquely, twisted as if silently screaming.

It was almost miraculous that even those 20 floors were still standing.

And yet, compared to the surrounding buildings, this was relatively intact.

Some structures had collapsed without a trace.

“…”

In the western sky tinged red like a blazing sunset…

From there, Arian looked down upon the hideout of a certain gang.

The distance between them was about 200 meters.

Close enough for the human eye to clearly discern, which was why Arian had concealed herself behind one of the tilted pillars.

Arian checked the LED light she was holding.

Her task here was simple.

After sunset, a machine gunner would patrol atop Iron Sight’s barricade at regular intervals.

When that machine gunner moved far enough away, Arian only needed to turn on her flashlight facing the rear.

If the truck loaded with explosives tried to charge the barricade within range of the machine gun’s fire, there was a risk of it being blown up midway.

Arian clicked the button on the LED light.

The blinking light shone towards the gradually darkening sky.

In the midst of that, Arian suddenly thought of Sadie.

The child waiting for their return at the Kingwood Militia’s base.

However, Arian wasn’t too worried.

From what she had observed, the Kingwood Militia seemed quite trustworthy.

Their attitude towards Aiden’s group held at least a basic level of respect, which extended to how they treated children as well.

Of course, she hadn’t judged solely based on their attitudes.

What had truly instilled trust in Arian was their enemy itself.

During the past 3 days of preparing for this battle, Arian hadn’t simply remained idle at the base.

Having been deceived in the past by those who sought to exploit her abilities for their own gain, Arian was more skeptical of the Kingwood Militia and River’s words than even Aiden.

So every night, she had ventured out.

The place Arian headed to was none other than Iron Sight’s base.

There was one thing she wanted to verify there.

Whether the Kingwood Militia’s claims were true or false.

And the result had been positive.

While there were some misunderstandings and exaggerations in River’s perceptions and testimonies…

The fact that Iron Sight was capturing people and using them as slaves was undeniable.

At the very least, River and the Kingwood Militia hadn’t lied to Arian and her companions.

That was why she was here now.

If there had been even a shred of deception, she wouldn’t have assisted them like this.

“How boring…”

Arian looked up at the sky.

The sunset hues had already faded, leaving the sky pitch-black, but the warm late summer air showed no signs of cooling.

It was then that the promised time finally arrived.

With the sun completely set and darkness enveloping all directions, the only light source was the bright moonlight.

In that dim environment, Arian quietly focused her gaze on the barricade above.

At that precarious distance where human eyes could barely discern the machine gunner stationed atop the barricade, Arian’s vision clearly pinpointed the gunner, and she flashed the light as the militia had requested.

However, for some reason…

“…What are they doing?”

Despite the machine gunner patrolling back and forth along the barricade four times, the truck loaded with explosives showed no signs of arriving.

Even Arian, capable of detecting a far wider range than ordinary humans, couldn’t sense its presence.

Just as she wondered if something had happened…

“There it comes now.”

When she flashed the light for the fifth time, the sound of a truck’s engine could be heard from hundreds of meters away.

But the brief relief Arian felt was soon replaced by a sense of dissonance.

How to put it…

The truck’s engine was far too loud.

Moreover, its speed exceeded Arian’s expectations.

Amidst the ruined buildings and debris littering Houston’s city center, there were naturally no proper roads remaining.

Even for an ordinary vehicle, extreme caution would be necessary.

Yet the truck carrying explosives was speeding through the city center at nearly full throttle.

No matter how urgent the situation, did they really need to rush like this?

However, Arian soon realized the reason for their haste.

Another presence pursuing the desperately fleeing truck had entered her detection range.

It was… the mutant.

Its footsteps were tremendously heavy, and the weight they carried was incomparable to any other mutant zombie.

A presence Arian had never sensed before.

This must be the Rhino they had planned to lure.

“Dangerous maneuvers…”

Arian muttered with a slightly furrowed brow.

Both the truck charging through the city center with explosives and luring the mutant behind it were acts that could easily lead to disaster if mishandled.

If they simply slipped on the debris, the truck would overturn, and the mutant would trample it.

It wasn’t just dangerous – it was reckless.

Was the militia that desperate?

However, contrary to her concerns, the truck passed through the city center swiftly yet stably.

The driver seemed quite skilled.

It was right as the truck approached the building ruins where Arian was standing…

“Hm…?”

Another problem arose.

Not only the truck’s engine, but Arian’s hearing could even pick up the conversations going back and forth across Iron Sight’s barricade.

Due to the roaring engine noise that shouldn’t have been audible in the quiet darkness, the gang had detected the truck’s presence.

The gang members who had immediately sensed the anomaly began gathering atop the barricade.

Among them was even the machine gunner who had just departed.

Arian watched the truck that had now reached right before her.

Even if she turned off the LED light now, that truck wouldn’t be able to stop.

Realizing this, Arian let out a long sigh.

“…Can’t be helped, I suppose.”

Arian briefly left the LED light on the railing, still illuminated.

To allow the truck to continue advancing.

Then, machete in hand, she turned away.

Just as her silhouette seemed to melt into the darkness…

“Wh-What the hell?”

Arian immediately appeared atop Iron Sight’s barricade.

The gang member who spotted her let out a startled shout.

Without acknowledging his shock, Arian simply swung her machete down.

Crack!

It passed cleanly through the machine gun in the gang member’s hands, cleaving it in two.

The machine gunner’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

However, before he could utter a word, Arian’s figure had already vanished in the blink of an eye.

“What… what was that just now!”

The gang member shouted as if he had seen a ghost.

But his astonishment didn’t last long.

Even before his companions could fully register what was happening, the indistinct engine sound that had been concealed in the darkness, along with the accompanying monstrous roar, reached their ears.

“Grooooaarr!”

The gang members trembled at the low, ominous howl that seemed to reverberate from underground.

The ground was already rhythmically shaking.

Wooooong!

Accompanied by a deafening engine roar, the truck that had been concealed in the shadows of the building ruins finally sped into the open area before the barricade.

“Stop those bastards!”

Gunfire rained down towards the truck and the mutant.

But neither the truck nor the mutant slowed down. They were charging straight towards the barricade.

It was only then that the gang members stationed atop the barricade realized the truck’s intent.

They belatedly spotted the machine gunner trying to take a position to stop the truck.

However, his machine gun had been cleanly split in two.

The gang members looked at the gunner with bewildered expressions, as if asking, ‘What is this?’

Without uttering a word, his eyes only seemed to convey a sense of injustice.

Right after that…

The truck that had finally reached the barricade spectacularly exploded.

The sturdy barricade crumbled in a cascading collapse, and amid the billowing dust, a massive corpse appeared.

Then, like a rhinoceros, it began rampaging through the gang’s base.

* * *

“Alright, looks like the frontal assault was a success.”

At that moment, in the forest behind Iron Sight’s base…

River, holding a radio, spoke those words.

Around him, including Aiden, the vanguard was concealed in the dark shadows of the forest.

River was present as the frontline commander overseeing this vanguard force for today’s operation.

At his words, the vanguard members nodded in relief.

Breaching the front barricade and driving in the mutant – it had been the operation’s start, but also an exceptionally difficult task.

However, despite River’s reassuring words, Aiden showed no signs of relief as he remained vigilantly surveying the surroundings.

To him, simply being outside in this enveloping darkness felt precarious.

There was no way to know when or from where an unexpected enemy might appear.

In fact, looking up at the ruined city center visible from the forest, he could see the shadows of corpses gradually gathering, drawn by the earlier explosion at the barricade.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any mutants among them yet, but that was no reason to let his guard down.

As Aiden maintained his sense of crisis, River’s voice continued.

“Then get ready, everyone. We’ll be moving soon too.”

He pointed ahead.

Some distance from the forest, atop Iron Sight’s barricade…

The flustered forms of gang members could be seen.

Some were running to relay information, while a few sentries were hurriedly relocating their positions – an unmistakably confused atmosphere.

“…”

Below that barricade, a few shadows moved.

They were Kingwood Militia members carrying armfuls of dynamite.

Since Iron Sight’s base was located beyond a road on the rear side, it was mostly surrounded by forest.

Unable to utilize trucks there, they had taken advantage of the distracted barricade to directly approach on foot.

“Huu…”

Watching the bomb-laying team’s movements, someone let out a tense sigh.

While the team seemed quite skilled at planting the explosives along the barricade wall, it was still a time-consuming task.

And that was the problem.

“Enemies below the barricade!”

In the midst of attaching the bombs to the wall, one of the sentries stationed atop the barricade finally spotted them.

He immediately opened fire towards the shadows he had seen.

One of their comrades was struck, spilling blood as he collapsed.

“Damn it…!”

Seeing that, River gritted his teeth.

The sentry continued calling out to his companions, and the gang members, initially flustered by the sudden attack, soon regained their composure and began approaching.

In that situation, River couldn’t remain idle either.

“Everyone, prepare suppressing fire! Target the ones on the barricade!”

At his command, the vanguard members scattered haphazardly in the forest rapidly took up positions to the left and right.

Aiden also raised his rifle.

Simultaneously, a slight concern crossed his mind.

In this darkness, firing at enemies atop the barricade was highly unlikely to hit accurately.

Of course, River’s judgment wasn’t mistaken.

If the bombs weren’t planted, the entire operation would become impossible to execute.

So issuing that improvised order the moment the plan went awry was a reasonable enough decision.

However, the issue was that the ammunition supplied by the Kingwood Militia was barely sufficient for full combat operations.

And this was even before the main battle had begun.

The already scarce bullets being consumed in this manner was certainly not good news.

But despite Aiden’s concerns, River immediately gave the order to open fire.

In the pitch-black forest, muzzle flashes flickered.

Followed by thunderous gunshots.

“Those bastards are shooting!”

Startled by the sudden noise from the forest, the gang members let out shouts.

They briefly retreated behind the barricade, but that defensive posture didn’t last long.

Hearing the gunshots and their companions’ cries, more and more gang members began climbing atop the barricade.

Moreover, having realized the suppressing fire’s accuracy wasn’t high…

Some of them, undeterred by the incoming fire, tried to return fire from below the barricade.

“Damn it…!”

River’s expression contorted as the situation unfolded contrary to his intentions.

Aiden too sensed that the circumstances were taking an unfavorable turn.

At this rate, the operation would fail without even breaching the barricade.

So he retrieved the military night vision scope he had brought, just in case.

The barricade and the gang members concealed atop it, shrouded in darkness, became clearly visible.

Among them, Aiden aimed at the one most aggressively engaging in the offensive.

Bang!

With that gunshot, a gang member immediately clutched his chest and plummeted from the barricade.

The next moment, another next to him suffered a headshot and similarly fell.

The sickening thud of a meaty sack hitting the ground resounded.

“Henry’s dead!”

“You bastards!”

Only after witnessing their comrades dying did the remaining gang members hurriedly take cover behind the barricade.

Naturally, the gunfire raining down on the bomb-laying team momentarily ceased.

They had barely bought some time.

“Not done yet?”

Amid that, River’s murmur could be heard.

He too had realized the situation was taking an unfavorable turn.

Perhaps prompted by his urgency…

The team that had been moving to plant the bombs began retreating from the barricade.

They had finally completed the setup and were falling back to prepare for detonation.

However, there was one who didn’t retreat with the others.

It was… a woman who had initially collapsed after being struck by the initial gunfire.

“…”

While invisible to others, Aiden’s night vision scope clearly captured her form.

The woman, who had fallen after being shot in the thigh, held a detonator switch in her hand.

What that unnamed woman intended to do next, Aiden had already realized.

A brief sigh escaped his lips.

Boooom!

An immense explosion that shook the air simultaneously engulfed the barricade and the woman.

A momentary flash, a plume of earth shooting upwards, and billowing dust.

As it settled, the woman’s figure was nowhere to be seen, and the previously sturdy barricade had been utterly demolished.

“Vanguard, move out!”

River’s command immediately followed.

The combatants who had been providing suppressing fire from a distance finally charged into the enemy base.