Chapter 197 The Group Trapped in the Building
"General, where are the troops?" Arlan asked. He didn't see them when he came here.
"I told them to rest while the others are still on their way here." The commanding general answered. The soldiers were tired from the journey and he didn't want them to fight in that state.
Arlan nodded his head. "You did great." He understood the commanding general's intentions.
The two discussed the movements of the horde together with Sigurd and the other commanders. While they were chatting, Arlan suddenly received a video call request from Winter.
Seeing this, he immediately answered the call. Winter would only call him if she had something important to say. "Did you discover something?" He asked while looking at Winter's face on the screen.
She nodded her head expressionlessly. "There were changes on the Zombie Dictionary book you sent to me. You should see it."
Arlan was stunned by her words. "Alright. Let me see it."
Winter adjusted the angle of the camera and showed him the contents of the Zombie Dictionary. He noticed that there was a new type of zombie illustrated in the book and based on its appearance, he was certain that it was the zombie they discovered in Quezon City.
[General-type Zombie]
- It has strong physical power and high mobility.
- It possessed hardened skin that could withstand low-caliber bullets.
- It can control normal zombies within its 500-meter radius.
- It has...
- It...
Arlan's expression turned grave when he read the description of the General-type zombie. It was even more powerful than a Tank-type zombie and unlike other unique zombies, the book didn't describe its weakness.
"Thank you for letting me know." Arlan said to Winter.
Winter didn't say anything and just disconnected the call.
Arlan told the commanding general about this and he similarly revealed a solemn expression. They only knew a few things about the General-type zombie so the information in the book was crucial.
"We have to change some of our plans." Arlan said while looking at the commanding general.
Lieutenant General Rivera nodded in agreement. "Now that we know that the General-type zombie can only control normal zombies within its 500-meter radius, we should eliminate them first. The moment they die, the zombie horde would be like headless flies."
Arlan nodded. "We just need to locate them again." He turned his gaze to Conrad and said. "Go and search for the General-type zombies."
"Yes, boss!" Conrad nodded and left.
Arlan then turned his head to Cedrick. "Gather a team of our best snipers and tell them to eliminate the General-type zombies."
"Understood!" Cedrick said while adjusting his glasses. He then stood up and left.
***
Inside a building in Quezon, there was a group of civilians hiding. All of them looked emaciated and this was because they hadn't eaten for several days. If not for the water they found in the building, some of them would have already died.
There were twelve of them in the group, seven women and five men. Among the ladies, two were middle-aged, while the remaining five were in their late teens. The five men were also in their teens. These people came from a university in Quezon. In the entire school, they were the only survivors left. To escape from the zombies, many of their friends and classmates were sacrificed. Their deaths were still vivid in everyone's mind.
They had smeared their bodies with mud to hide their scent from the zombies. This was an idea suggested by a young man wearing a pair of broken glasses. He was the calmest person in the group.
In the last few days, he noticed that the zombies were capable of following their scents so he asked everyone to smear mud into their skin and clothes. Although they weren't discovered by the zombies, the mud also caused some serious irritation on their skins. Furthermore, they didn't have any food and they only had half a liter of water left.
Despair was written all over their faces.
"Are we going to die?" A young woman cried while hugging her legs.
No one replied, but the lack of hope was evident on their faces. Even the two middle-aged teachers didn't offer any words of consolation.
"As long as we are alive, there is still hope." A calm voice drifted into everyone's ears. They turned their heads in unison and looked at the young man wearing broken glasses. This guy led everyone into safety so they all treated them as their leader. His words managed to give them some comfort.
"Brandon, we are running out of water and we haven't eaten anything in the last few days. We should head out and look for something to eat. Celine is also sick so she needs some medicine." A tomboyish girl wearing goth style short skirt and black leather boots said. She was holding a sick girl in her arms.
Brandon took off his glasses and put it away. "I understand, but only a few of us should go. In the last two days that we are here, I observed the movements of the zombies. There are only a few zombies inside the building, but there are dozens of them outside. Moving with a lot of people is risky and there is a high chance that we will be discovered. I suggest that only three of us should head out to look for food and medicine."
"W-Who among us should go?" A gay man wearing girl's clothes asked timidly.
Everyone became nervous when they heard this. No one wants to get out of the building. The scene of their friends' deaths was still lingering in their minds.
"I will go. I have to take the lead since I'm the most familiar with this place. We just need two more people." Brandon was also scared, but he knew that he had to do something for them to survive.
"I'll go with you." The tomboyish girl muttered with a determined look.
Brandon nodded his head at her. He then stared at the others, but they all looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. Seeing this, he sighed and shook his head.
"Damn it! I'll go with you guys!" A man wearing a basketball jersey said while gritting his teeth. He was the fastest in the group and he was also the most athletic.
"Good. Then it's decided." Brandon stood up.
"While we are away, make sure that you keep the door locked." He added.
The others remained silent, while the two teachers stared at the three of them with guilty conscience. They were the adults, but three kids were braver than them.
"We'll look after everyone." One of the teachers squeezed out a smile.
Brandon nodded before glancing at the two who would go out with him. "Let's go."
The tomboyish girl and the sporty guy nodded their heads solemnly.
Everyone slowly moved the things they used to block the door and when everything was cleared, Brandon held the doorknob as he leaned over and listened to the situation outside. He didn't hear anything so he carefully opened the door.
After seeing that there were no zombies, he nodded at the two and stepped out of the room. The tomboyish girl and sporty guy followed him.
"There is a convenience store in front of this building, but to go there, we have to cross the street." Brandon whispered to them.
The sporty guy suddenly noticed a wooden bat. He squatted and grabbed it. "This must have been brought over by someone during the chase." He mumbled when he saw the bloodstains on the floor.
Brandon's eyes flashed when he saw his actions. "I remembered that there is a fire axe on the second floor, but we don't have the key to open the glass box and if we break the glass, it will attract the zombies."
"I can try to open the box. As long as it's not a new lock, I might be able to open it." The tomboyish girl said as she grabbed a hairpin from her head.
Brandon's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Good. Let's get the fire axe first."
The three went down the building while trying to make less noise. Luckily for them, they didn't encounter any zombies as they went down to the second floor.
The tomboyish girl observed the glass box.
"Can you open it?" Brandon asked while looking at the surroundings. Meanwhile, the sporty guy was acting as the lookout near the staircase.
"Just be quiet." The tomboyish girl inserted the hairpin inside the keyhole and moved it up and down while trying to figure out the mechanism of the lock.
Brandon anxiously stared at her.
Beads of sweat appeared on the girl's face as she tried to open the lock. A minute had already passed, but nothing happened. Suddenly, she heard a 'clicking' sound which made her smile. "It's open."
"Great!" Brandon pulled open the glass and grabbed the fire axe. It felt heavy in his hands. The lack of food took a lot of his strength. He would be exhausted if he swung it around.
Thinking about this, Brandon gave the axe to the sporty guy. "You're stronger than me. You should use it. I'll take the bat."
The sporty guy nodded his head and handed the bat to him.
Brandon took a deep breath and said. "Let's go down now."
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