How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

The next day.

After spending the night in an abandoned hotel in Huntington Beach, he set out early in the morning.

Headed towards the substation near LA where soldiers had died.

The substation was located in a place called Irvine, over 10km away from Huntington Beach.

A city surrounded by small mountain ranges to the north and south, it had more green spaces than typical urban areas.

But from this Irvine onward, it was no longer a safe zone.

“Kiii…”

Entering the abandoned residential area, the moans of zombies could be heard coming from various directions.

There were no traces of human presence, with only the occasional corpse shambling along the roads.

It wouldn’t be surprising if mutants were lurking somewhere amidst this as well.

Passing through that residential area, Aiden entered an empty lot and continued walking until the substation finally came into view.

The substation was situated on a wide field enclosed by green iron fencing.

At its center loomed a massive transmission tower, with numerous transmission facilities stretching out beside it.

There were also some smaller buildings and electrical facilities on the grounds, but nothing too substantial in scale.

Certainly not large enough to provide hiding places for any dangerous mutants.

While the details of what had occurred here were unclear, the possibility of mutants currently being present seemed low.

“…”

Assured of that, Aiden stepped onto the dirt grounds within the substation’s perimeter.

Advancing a bit further inside revealed the interior littered with signs of combat.

Some of the short transmission line towers resembling lightning rods had collapsed, as if crushed by something.

The surrounding white distribution boxes bore clear bullet impacts as well.

And the bloodstains coating those areas seemed to bear witness to the carnage that had unfolded here.

“…There’s one over there.”

Amidst that grisly scene, Aiden easily spotted someone’s corpse between the mangled lightning rods.

It was a man.

Dressed in a territorial defense force uniform, he seemed to have died instantly from a broken neck, likely struck by some impact.

“Rest in peace.”

After silently wishing the man peace, Aiden retrieved his personal effects.

His LA citizen ID and dog tags that had been inside his uniform.

As Aiden rose after collecting that soldier’s effects-

“Kiiiii…!”

That sound came from nearby.

When Aiden turned to look, sure enough, there was a zombie.

But… that zombie was also wearing a military uniform.

It seemed some of the soldiers who had died here had turned into zombies.

“Tsk…”

Aiden drew his military sword.

Since he wasn’t wearing his helmet here, the zombie hadn’t reacted to Aiden’s approach until he was right next to it.

Twack!

Aiden’s blade pierced straight through the soldier zombie’s neck.

Its body immediately collapsed, and Aiden recovered its personal effects as well.

“Next…”

Aiden scoured the substation grounds, rummaging through corpses and putting down zombies.

Fortunately, there were no signs of any mutants emerging during that time.

As such, retrieving the soldiers’ personal effects was merely a repetitive task for Aiden.

“Night vision goggles, huh…”

Aiden fiddled with the helmet one of the dead soldiers had been wearing.

Damaged from some impact, it still had a pair of shattered night vision goggles attached.

While it was a shame for such valuable equipment to be ruined, the existence of those goggles allowed Aiden to deduce something.

First, that these soldiers had come here in the dead of night.

Quite a few items like those night vision goggles or flashlights, meant for operating in darkness, were found among them. Some were even still turned on, clearly indicating they had been in use right until the soldiers’ demise.

Additionally, the mutant that had assaulted these soldiers was presumed to be a Wielder.

The condition of the deceased, the crushed lightning rods, and most decisively, the presence of thick, broken steel rods left behind – items that didn’t belong in this place.

Those had likely been the Wielder’s weapons.

From these clues, Aiden could roughly surmise the details of the tragedy that had occurred here.

The group of just over 10 soldiers who had come to this location were annihilated by a Wielder’s ambush.

“…”

However, amidst those traces, there were also some peculiarities.

First, the soldiers’ armaments seemed inferior to what Aiden was familiar with.

Compared to the soldiers who had escorted Aiden’s group to LA yesterday, even their rifles were different.

Those soldiers had all carried standardized military-grade rifles, but the ones scattered here were commercial models.

Lacking automatic firing capabilities, their firepower was significantly diminished compared to military-issued weapons.

Moreover, among these soldiers were even unexploded grenades carelessly rolling around.

Not only were their rifles in poor condition, but their explosives had been duds as well.

Was it simply a case of compounded misfortune?

Or had this tragedy occurred due to LA’s circumstances forcing them to resort to using defective equipment?

Aiden briefly pondered that thought before shaking his head.

It wasn’t an issue he could draw any conclusions about right now.

Clearing his mind of those wandering thoughts, Aiden focused on collecting the personal effects.

“Is this all of them?”

In total, Aiden had recovered the effects belonging to 13 individuals.

Five had been deceased, while the rest had turned into zombies.

But that was a relatively decent number, considering there seemed to be two or three others whose bodies had been so gruesomely mangled on the ground that recovering any effects would have been impossible.

However, on the opposite side, there was also a stroke of luck.

In the direction Aiden had entered from, there was an open door.

On the floor leading that way were faint bloodstains, as if someone had escaped through there.

Meaning amidst this chaos, at least one person had managed to flee from the substation.

Aiden briefly looked in the direction those bloodstains led.

Towards a small park area with a lake.

Perhaps the person who had fled tried to use that lake to throw off any mutant pursuits.

Whether that attempt had succeeded or not, Aiden simply turned away.

His task, after all, was only to recover the fallen soldiers’ personal effects.

If someone had managed to survive, he could only wish them fortune.

There was nothing more he could do for them.

“Time to head back, I suppose.”

Having completed his task, Aiden muttered those words.

He swiftly departed from the substation grounds.

A cold winter breeze swept across the silent wasteland where corpses now slumbered.

* * *

The next day in LA.

Weary from their long journey, yet invigorated by anticipation for this new city, morning came sooner than usual.

Both Arian and Sadie had to rise from their beds earlier than normal.

Sadie to attend school, and Arian to go to her assigned workplace.

“Was it 8… no, 8:30?”

Arian tilted her head slightly as she checked the clock, one of the only electronic devices in the apartment they had been provided.

She clearly remembered the receptionist yesterday mentioning the time when the school bus would pass by, but couldn’t quite recall the exact hour.

“It’s 8:30 for me. For you, Arian, it’s 9.”

Sadie spoke up to the puzzled Arian.

Unlike Arian, who had a hazy concept of time, Sadie clearly remembered the hours they had been told.

“Ah, that’s right. Well… a school bus, huh…”

Arian let out an awkward chuckle as she spoke.

She had heard yesterday that Sadie could attend school in LA, but it still didn’t feel entirely real to her.

In fact, Arian even harbored some lingering doubts over whether a bus would actually come as promised.

But.

“…It really did come.”

Standing near the bus stop close to their apartment at the appointed time, Arian could clearly see a bus approaching from down the road.

Somewhat aged but unmistakably a typical yellow school bus.

That school bus glided smoothly to a stop right in front of Arian and Sadie.

Soon, its door opened, and a middle-aged woman stepped out.

“Are you Sadie? Sadie Lewis?”

The woman asked, looking at Sadie.

When Sadie nodded, the woman smiled faintly as she continued speaking.

“I was informed you’d be coming today. Is this your first day? Could I see your citizen ID?”

After confirming Sadie’s ID, the woman stepped aside as if motioning for her to board.

She then turned her gaze towards Arian.

“And you must be her guardian? Please read this.”

The woman pointed towards a paper posted on the bus.

It contained information related to the school Sadie would be attending, such as its location and class dismissal times.

Arian tried her best to commit that information to memory in the brief time she had.

“Well then… have a good day at school.”

Arian bid Sadie farewell.

It was only then that Sadie responded with a bright smile before scampering up the bus steps.

Soon, the bus carrying Sadie departed.

Watching its receding figure, Arian felt an impulse to chase after it.

She couldn’t be entirely certain that the school would be a safe place, after all.

But the school bus had many other children aboard as well.

Among those cheerfully chattering kids, there seemed to be no hints of unease.

So Arian calmly suppressed her urge to follow.

She had already secretly passed a small paper slip laced with her blood to Sadie, just in case.

If Sadie deemed her surroundings dangerous, all she had to do was tear that slip.

Arian would then sense Sadie’s peril and be able to approximate her location.

With that reassurance, Arian set aside her worries about Sadie for now.

As she turned away, a different concern crossed Arian’s mind.

“Speaking of which… having a job…”

Unfortunately, Arian had never experienced working a job, not just since arriving in this zombie-infested world, but even before that.

As a vampire who had been hunted by humans from the moment she came of age – no, even before then – she lacked any experience with ordinary societal life.

“Umm…”

That realization prompted Arian to let out a vexed grunt.

At least her chosen occupation as a soldier was somewhat fortunate.

The military was the only organization Arian was remotely familiar with, having constantly stood on battlefields.

Through frequently eavesdropping on conversations between soldiers, Arian had a rough understanding of how the military functioned, even if the battlefield itself had been her workplace.

Had Arian chosen an ordinary company job instead, she would have been utterly lost.

She had scarcely witnessed the working lives of regular office employees, not even through media like TV.

“…”

Back inside their apartment, Arian checked the clock again.

She had been told her assigned workplace would contact her by 9 AM.

As Arian was anxiously watching the time, it happened.

“Is anyone there?”

There was a knock at the front door, accompanied by that voice.

Upon opening it, a man was standing outside.

“Arian Clifford?”

Arian nodded in affirmation.

But the man didn’t acknowledge her response, simply holding out his hand instead.

A gesture demanding she present her temporary citizen ID.

It was only after confirming Arian’s ID that the man spoke again.

“This is your job assignment order.”

The man briskly handed Arian a palm-sized paper before immediately heading back down the stairs.

Written on it were the name of the military unit Arian had been assigned to and that unit’s location.

Their garrison was in a building near the walls.

The route to reach that building was also indicated, with instructions to take a bus.

“I have ridden buses before.”

It was an experience from when she had been hiding within the confines of a certain metropolitan area.

Back then, using buses or subways had actually been less conspicuous, so she had frequently utilized them.

Feeling confident, Arian promptly set out for her first day of work.

She waited for a bus in front of her apartment.

After around 10 minutes, one arrived.

There didn’t seem to be any route number distinctions – it appeared only a single bus line passed through this area.

And when Arian boarded, she realized there was no fare payment system in place.

Passengers could simply get on without any payment.

Come to think of it… did currency even exist in this city to begin with?

No matter how hard Arian tried to recall, she couldn’t remember seeing anything resembling money.

Meanwhile, after riding that bus for about 30 minutes, Arian reached her stop.

The workplace she had been assigned to appeared to be an ordinary warehouse building from the outside.

But stepping inside, it was filled with soldiers.

However, Arian already had a rough idea of which specific soldier she needed to meet.

“…”

Without a word, Arian entered deeper into the warehouse interior.

Her presence immediately drew the gazes of the soldiers, but Arian paid them no heed.

Soon, she arrived before a door labeled ‘Platoon Leader’s Office.’

Deftly, Arian knocked on that door.

Promptly receiving permission to enter, she opened the door just like that.

Seated at the desk inside the platoon leader’s office was a woman of Middle Eastern descent.

Her uniform even had her name displayed – Ava Hill.

Upon seeing Arian enter, Ava tilted her head slightly in puzzlement.

“What’s this, who are you?”

“A new recruit, ma’am.”

Arian brazenly answered Ava’s question.

In an instant, Ava’s brow furrowed deeply.

“A recruit? You?”

Without another word, Arian handed her assignment order to Ava.

After confirming the order along with Arian’s citizen ID, Ava’s expression hardened even further.

“Ha… even with our manpower shortages, this is…”

She pressed her temples with her fingers as she said that.

It was obvious from her reaction that she didn’t approve of Arian’s deployment.

Even knowing this, Arian simply remained silent.

Then Ava spoke first.

“Hey, kid. Did you say you’d join the military?”

“Yes.”

“Have you fired a gun before?”

“I’ve used knives more than guns.”

Hearing Arian’s reply, Ava sighed exasperatedly.

“You’re not suitable to work here. I’ll take responsibility for changing your job. So…”

“I like it here.”

“What can a girl who can’t even hold a rifle properly do…”

Ava kept suggesting that Arian change jobs, but Arian was stubborn.

She had no intention of leaving the military.

In the end, it was Ava who gave up the conversation.

“Okay, then I’ll make you realize it. Harris!”

Ava called out towards the outside.

Soon the door to the platoon leader’s office opened, and a white man stuck his head out.

“Yes, sir?”

“This is the new recruit. Take her and have her work today.”

“Take her along?”

Harris stared at Arian, then spoke again.

“But today’s work is…”

“I know.”

Ava simply hurried Harris, and he had no choice but to take Arian and leave the warehouse.

The place Arian arrived at with Harris was the parking lot behind the warehouse, where there was a truck and large sacks, which turned out to be cement bags, each weighing over 40kg.

“Today’s work is to load these onto the truck…”

But moving them wasn’t an easy task even for an adult male.

So Harris trailed off, but Arian nodded calmly and stood in front of them.

Perhaps soldiers don’t always have to fight.

It was an unexpected task for Arian, but of course it was not something she couldn’t do.

She just couldn’t fully display her true strength.

She couldn’t advertise that she was a vampire, and had to stay within the bounds of common sense.

So Arian decided to lift only one bag at a time.

“Huh…?”

Seeing Arian easily lift the bag, Harris’s eyes widened.

It was not exactly within the bounds of common sense for a girl in her mid-teens to single-handedly lift a cement bag.

But Harris had no words to say to Arian about that.

It was the work he had assigned, and the task allocated to the unit.

He couldn’t nitpick her for doing the job well.

Instead, he assumed that’s why the platoon leader just told him to have her do it.

And a few hours later.

“That new recruit is doing the work amazingly well.”

When Harris went to report the completion of the work to Ava, he said that.

At this, Ava’s expression twisted in disbelief.