The planet rotated.
The night slowly brightened.
The dimensional rift became visible in the sky.
Livia woke Vincent up.
They departed.
A metal pipe went through the H-shaped handles, blocking the hospital's two-winged glass door.
A drawer blocked the door from the inside.
Prim stood guard outside.
They moved the drawer and removed the metal pipe.
They walked out.
"Aghh..."
Vincent covered his nose and mouth.
A wave of nausea assaulted him.
His vomit moved up his throat.
He barely held it in.
It would be a waste to vomit the food he ate.
A disgusting, rotting stench lingered in the air.
Prim stood.
His body had already started decomposing.
The skin sank in. The green blood had dried on him.
The sliced skin on his throat had started peeling.
It revealed his rotting vocal cords.
His mouth and eyes rotted.
A chunk of his lip was missing.
One could see the jaw—the teeth.
His stench contaminated the air.
No, not just from him.
Rot contaminated the air of the entire city.
Rot from the increasing number of zombies.
"Here,"
Livia reached into her pocket.
She tossed a white veil and a surgical mask.
Vincent didn't hesitate.
He caught them and put on the mask.
It eased the rotting stench.
Livia put on a mask.
She tied the white bandage over her nose and mouth.
Vincent followed her example.
"You are prepared."
He spoke.
"Of course."
She nodded.
"I may not look much, but I worked in the hospital laboratory. I have a habit and curiosity about research."
"Do you think the rotting of the zombies is a coincidence or a natural occurrence because they are dead?"
"Are they not?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. How do you think the virus spreads?"
She smiled at his naivety.
"The virus spreads in two ways: actively and passively."
Livia started explaining.
They worked to block the entrance from the outside.
"Actively is when they start turning into zombies and spewing blood all around. A large amount of virus spreads then. And after they turn, biting someone is also active spreading."
Her expression darkened.
"However, the more powerful one is passive spreading.
When the zombies rot, a large amount of zombie virus escapes their bodies. The more zombies there are, the faster the virus spreads."
Vincent's eyes widened.
Even he, the source, didn't know this information.
He assumed it spreads when they vomit blood and bite.
But it never crossed his mind that the rotting is also a mechanism for spreading the virus.
"How do you know?"
He frowned.
Glancing at her.
But he met her deadpan gaze.
"Are you serious? I told you a few days ago?" She pointed at her eyes.
"I can see it,"
Vincent nodded.
Slightly embarrassed. 'How could he forget something so important?
However, he had something far more important to worry about—her ability.
He might have underestimated it.
He might need to reevaluate the danger it posed.
They blocked the door.
Vincent's frown deepened.
He directed his gaze further down the street.
Previously, the zombies were seldom. And groups of more even rarer.
But now, he could see several zombies just down the street.
"The number of zombies increased so much,"
He muttered.
He already knew.
But witnessing it felt different. Heavier. Scarier.
"We were lucky. They avoided the hospital."
Livia shook her head.
"Remember. There is no such thing as coincidence."
"What do you mean?"
Vincent was puzzled.
Livia glared at him.
"Do you think the zombies avoiding the hospital is a coincidence?"
She glared at him.
"Otherwise?"
Vincent tilted his head.
"This is why I told you to move on."
A hint of anger flashed in her eyes.
"You are not thinking clearly. The truth is so simple and right before your eyes,"
'Hmph...'
Vincent scoffed internally.
"Please enlighten me."
"The zombies are avoiding the hospital because of your zombie. It is a superior zombie. Otherwise, do you think every zombie is like your zombie?
I was surprised by its senses. It could track my scent throughout the entire hospital. Do you think humans could survive until now if every zombie had such crazy senses?"
Vincent fell silent.
"Alright."
Livia didn't give time to dwell.
"Let's not waste time. There is a supermarket at the end of the street."
Swoosh!
She moved forward.
Vincent snapped out of his thoughts. He followed after.
Prim followed them.
Vincent immediately caught up to Livia.
'Such speed!'
His heart trembled, excited at how much faster he had become.
They quickly approached the zombies.
"I'm not good at fighting, and we didn't bring any weapons."
Livia spoke.
"We'll have to rely on your zombie to kill our way through. We'll gear up in the supermarket. I've been in it before the towers descended. They sell axes and chainsaws. Unfortunately, Varlo was too cowardly to explore before."
'She's not good at fighting?'
The memory of her effortlessly slicing Varlo's throat flashed in his mind.
But he still nodded.
"Go!"
With a thought, Prim acted.
He stormed, passing them.
Uaghhhh!
The four zombies in front caught Livia's scent.
Fresh, human flesh.
However, they also sensed the presence of a superior existence among their kind.
They dared not hunt.
Their instinctive fear of Varlo overpowered their craving for human flesh.
But their decomposing bodies couldn't move away fast enough.
'Use super strength,'
Vincent willed. He intended to test Prim's ability.
With another thought, Prim's status window emerged.
[Name: Prim]
[Species: Undead - Awakened Zombie]
[Awakened ability: Super Strength] - [Cooldown: 00:00:04/03:00:00]
[Strength: 24] - [00:00:04/00:10:00]
[Agility: 11.4]
'Hmm...'
A pleasant surprise.
'The ability increases his strength by 8 points. And it lasts 10 minutes.'
This satisfied him.
'And the cooldown is only three hours.'
Plop! Splash! Splash!
Green blood splashed.
A punch. A single punch sent a zombie's head flying.
Torn from the neck.
Green blood spouted like a fountain.
The zombies collapsed one by one.
Vinecnt scoffed.
An ordinary zombie has a strength of 5 and an agility of 3. The difference is too vast.'
Prim dealt with them in a second.
"Let's hurry,"
Vincent urged.
"I used the special ability. It gives him a boost in strength for ten minutes."
He revealed that information.
It was crucial for future planning.
If something unexpected happened after those ten minutes, they would be left without a powerful trump card.
But he left out the coodown.
Livia would guess the ability had a cooldown.
But he felt at ease without her having the accurate information.
Swoosh!
Livia didn't speak.
She stormed forward at full speed.
Vincent followed.
They met a dozen more zombies along the way.
But things went smoothly.
Prim dealt with them.
Without much danger, they almost reached their destination.
The supermarket was in sight.
Vincent panted.
His side and lungs burned.
His agility increased, but his stamina has not.
His stamina couldn't support him running at full speed for long.
Livia was no better.
But they accomplished their goal.
They reached their destination before Prim's boost expired.
They had two minutes left.
"Wait,"
Livia halted.
She extended her arm, blocking Vincent.
"What happened?"
Vincent stopped, and with him, Prim.
Seeing her deep frown, Vincent got serious.
Her eyes flashed with light green.
She activated her ability.
Silence.
Eerie silence fell.
She observed around.
"There are no zombies around."
Livia broke the silence.
"I don't see zombie footsteps."
Her frown deepened.
"Several monster footprints are leading inside."
"A demon," Vincent uttered grimly.
"More than one. At least two."
Livia added.
"We should be able to deal with them."
Determination flashed in Vincent's eyes.
Livia nodded.
Swoosh!
Prim stormed forward. He took the lead.
Vincent and Livia cautiously moved along.
Prim reached the supermarket entrance.
The glass door had shattered.
Shelves covered the glass walls. It ensured complete darkness inside.
Vincent ordered.
Prim stopped before the entrance.
Vincent and Livia observed from a safe distance.
Grrr!
A growl rang from inside.
Swoosh!
A figure leaped.
Prim dodged back.
Thud!
The figure landed on the ground—a demon hound.
Swoosh!
Another figure followed from inside.
Another demon hound landed beside the first.
A deep frown appeared on Vincent's face.
His expression darkened. Heart pounded.
Memories resurfaced—memories of the demon hound biting his arm.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins.
'Barely a minute left.'
He gritted his teeth.
Vincent didn't use his skill Probe.
He remembered the stats of the demon hound.
With the boost of his ability, Prim could take care of them.
But if it ran out...
Roar!
A demon hound leaped at Prim.
'Don't break its limbs. Aim for its chest.'
Vincent ordered.
Swoosh!
As the first demon hound approached, the second leaped as well.
Vincent could only grit his teeth.
'Take the hit! Kill them!'
Swoosh!
Prim jumped forward.
The first demon hound was still in the air.
He got underneath it.
THUD! CRACK!
A dull sound.
Prim's punch landed.
The demon hound's chest sank in.
Thud!
The demon hound's body collapsed on the ground.
The punch carried tremendous force.
The demon hound rolled a distance from the supermarket entrance.
It struggled to get up. Failing.
It was on its last breath.
Grrrrr!
Unfortunately, Prim and the demon hounds had similar agility stats.
He couldn't dodge the second demon hound.
Splash!
Green blood splashed.
The demon hound barred its teeth on his left shoulder.
Swoosh!
But Prim was a zombie—an undead.
Undead didn't feel pain.
Crack!
The second demon hound couldn't react.
Prim punched at the head.
The skull cracked.
The demon hound froze.
It collapsed. On its last breath, unable to move.
An expected result.
After all, Prim's strength exceeded the demon hound's by more than 10.
'Good,'
Vincent heaved a sigh of relief.
A weight lifted off his chest.
He made his way to the first demon hound.
It was harmless. Unable to differentiate objects. Taking its last breaths.
Blood drooled from its mouth.
The shattered bones had messed up his insides.
Vincent crouched.
He glanced at Livia.
No words.
Yet she understood.
She tossed him a medical scalpel.
Vincent gritted his teeth and cut his palm.
He fed his violet blood to the demon hound.
Now, he just had to wait for the blood to react.
The demon hound will die and turn into a zombie.
ROOOOOOAR!
The air tore.
A sharp, deafening roar tore the air.
The source?
The Supermarket.
Vincent's heart skipped a beat.
His blood froze.
BOOM!
He didn't even turn his head.
A figure flew past him.
It crashed into a nearby collapsed building.
Prim!