Blaze walked around the zoo, exploring the mutants of the new world. At least that was the plan, but his mind wandered somewhere else.
The lair upgrade quest was almost over. The only thing left for him was to infect a hundred beings. The only way to infect a corpse or a living being was through Necroseed.
However, to use the seed, he had to infect them all by himself.
The process was tiring and also inefficient. Unlike shown in the movies and games, where every zombie could infect others.
I can’t even think how all these zombies got infected.
Not everyone possessed Necroseed, Blaze knew that. At first, he assumed elites could infect others, but that theory didn’t hold for long.
Both Saturn and Fester had evolved into elite zombies, yet they couldn’t infect others. So, it must be something else.
After a while, he sat on a bench, staring at the sky above. The bleeding sun stared right back at him.
The necroseed... how does it work?
[Request denied. Subject doesn’t have the clearance to obtain the information.]
I was talking to myself... but good to know you know about it. By the way, who are you people?
Blaze frowned. It seemed the Collective had upgraded their system, or whatever it was. He thought to gaslight them again into giving the information, but changed his mind.
Corrupting the system wouldn’t be easy. Then again, the Collective might not take kindly to his constant attempts to undermine them. For now, it was safe to lie low.
Eventually, his thoughts drifted back to the seed. Blaze stared at his hands, wondering what was different between him and his horde. Other than his intelligence, of course.
Which part of me holds the necroseed?
Blaze popped his claws. The thought of performing a self-autopsy entered his mind. Only to disappear as soon as it came.
There are plenty of other undead with Necroseed. As long as I can capture one, the mystery will be solved.
They were the ones who started all of it.
Should I try capturing them?
However, there was a slight issue with that plan. Two of them, actually.
First, he had no idea where they had disappeared to. Second, even if he somehow found them, they were too strong. He wasn’t confident he could defeat them, even with the entire horde facing them.
I could start looking for them, starting from the college. No, I can’t.
Blaze shook his head. He needed to stay in the lair for a while. At least till he was confident his horde and defenses could hold up against the humans on their own.
To check that, the humans would have to attack the lair first. So far, it didn’t seem they had any intention of doing so.
Maybe I should send some zombies to attack their base.
While he thought about that, the ground before him shifted, and a bony skull popped out of it.
Huh, you’re busy expanding your burrow network, huh?
Blaze smiled, patting Fester’s head.
He had entrusted the dog-sized rat to make a tunnel system under the zoo. While he was confident in his lair, he wanted to have an exit plan ready in case things went south.
Fester’s task was to make multiple underground exits to fulfill that purpose. However, this time it wasn’t there for that.
"Skree! Skreeee! Skre!"
Ten of them are headed this way?
Fester nodded, before pointing towards the parking lot with its tail. Blaze shot to his feet, brimming with excitement. His patience paid off! However, the joy quickly faded away.
Blaze had prepared the first-circle, thinking dozens of them would show up. He expected an extermination squad to be sent his way, but it seemed the humans were being too cautious, and sent a small scouting force instead.
Maybe I overdid myself.
The severed head was supposed to anger the humans. Instead, it seemed to have scared them. It was a slight miscalculation on his side, but well, at least he got visitors.
At the same time, in the parking lot.
"He’s a smart one, alright," Harold, the squad’s redhead, the construction mechanic, said. "Destroying cars that are useless. He’s definitely an Einstein."
The squad burst into laughter. Everyone knew the solar flare released before the sun began bleeding had rendered all electronics useless. It made no sense for anyone to destroy a car.
But Hailey saw things differently. Where the rest saw Blaze as a fool, he thought of him as a cautious zombie, one who didn’t want to take any chances at all.
Hailey then turned his gaze towards the entrance. He had a feeling anyone who walked past the gate wouldn’t leave alive. Even though every bone in his body was screaming to leave, he couldn’t do that.
After the grand farewell, if he returned without any information, then what little that was left of his reputation would take a hit. If that happened, forget about taking revenge. He would lose everything.
Michael and Neha were perhaps betting on it, waiting to brand him as a coward.
However, if he succeeded in the operation, he would be hailed as a hero. In that event, taking revenge would be a piece of cake.
"Enough joking around," Hailey ordered the squad. "Check your gear. We’ll head inside in five."
Hailey looked around. In the ten-man squad, only four of them were Chosen, including him. The rest were highly trained soldiers, dependent on weapons.
That bastard Michael didn’t even let me pick the squad.
Still, he could make-do with what he had.
Barry Sins, the tank carrying two shields made of car doors of a humvee. Hana, the medic with large area healing. Then there was Arby, the sharpshooter. And finally, it was Hailey himself, a berserker.
If things turned south, at least the chosen should be able to escape. That was the only solace Hailey had.
"Alright, let’s head inside!" he instructed.
The squad formed a single file, led by Barry, as they entered the zoo. The stench of death immediately hit them.
At first, everything looked as Jade had told them. Lots of blood and destruction, but not a single corpse in sight. As they walked in, they realized a lot had changed.
Hailey stepped up, staring at what could only be called an amalgamation of sadistic artistic freedom.
"What in the world...?"
"Is that... a wall made of corpses?"
"I have seen enough," Hailey blurted out. "Everyone, retreat!"
"But sir, the mission—" Arby said, but was interrupted.
"We need to inform the base about this... whatever this is," Hailey interrupted. "This Blaze guy... he is far stranger than we thought!"
Upon seeing their leader panic, the soldiers didn’t want to stay there any longer, either. Not because they weren’t confident, but because they didn’t want to work under Hailey in that condition.
They turned to leave, only for an unawakened soldier to scoff.
"I’m not a coward," he said, before stepping towards the wall.
The words had barely left Hailey’s mouth when something happened. Something appeared out of the floor beneath the soldier’s feet.
The next second, he was impaled by countless bony spikes, before getting launched back like a catapult shot.
The soldier’s blood flew everywhere.
A splash of warm blood covered Hailey’s face.
The zombie... had set a trap for them!?