How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

As Aiden and Arian returned to their hideout, the sky was dyed with the colors of the setting sun. Due to the delay caused by tracking Bigfoot, Aiden decided to postpone receiving the reward for the mission until tomorrow.

Instead, he set up a table and called Arian to sit down.

It was to study her blood.

“You make medicine?”

Arian, munching on canned food with her fully recovered arms, tilted her head in response to his words.

“It’s not exactly medicine. You could say it’s more like a neutralizer.”

Saying so, he took out a large syringe from the bag beside him.

Even at a glance, it showed signs of being used multiple times.

“As you can see, I am infected with the zombie virus, yet I maintain my sanity. It’s because the virus hasn’t completely eroded my brain.”

“Hmm… Is that a common occurrence?”

“Of course not. I’ve never seen a case like mine, except for myself.”

Arian nodded her head.

Aiden had been speaking sensibly from the beginning, so there weren’t many times she found him strange. Yet, thinking calmly, his existence was quite peculiar.

He was a man fighting against zombies, dealing with humans, despite being a zombie himself.

“But that doesn’t mean the virus is dormant. It’s still constantly trying to erode my brain. The role of this neutralizer is to delay that process.”

Saying so, Aiden demonstrated the process of making the neutralizer in front of Arian.

First, he inflicted a wound on his arm to extract the green zombie fluid. Then, he heated it as it was. When the green fluid dried up and turned reddish, he took out a healthy human’s blood pack and mixed it with the zombie’s fluid.

“What’s the point of doing something like that? Isn’t it a waste of blood?”

“This is how you make a neutralizer.”

Aiden, placing the liquid he made into the large syringe he always used, injected it into his own neck.

Arian sighed and looked at the liquid that continued to enter his throat.

“Does it really work?”

“Common sense would tell you that. If it weren’t for this, I would have been no different from the corpses wandering out there by now.”

Aiden began to explain the principles.

The virus first attacks the human blood that enters the body. Therefore, when a human is bitten by a zombie, the blood is contaminated first, and the virus spreads throughout the body through that blood.

Aiden’s neutralizer took advantage of this reaction in reverse.

To divert the attention of the viruses attacking the brain, he injected human blood into the body.

As a result, the erosion of the brain is significantly delayed until the injected blood becomes completely contaminated.

However, the neutralizing effect of ordinary human blood was too short-lived.

So, he discovered that when he mixed heated zombie fluid with human blood, the virus’s contamination time was extended, leading to the current method.

“So, you had human blood because of that.”

“That’s right. And for that reason, I want to experiment with your blood as well.”

“Experiment? You’re not going to draw my blood and inject it into yourself, are you?”

“I might.”

Arian made a disgusted expression.

However, since she had agreed to cooperate with Aiden, she couldn’t refuse this role.

She reluctantly nodded, expressing her consent.

“But before that, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“You said you’re a vampire, right? Then, if I inject your blood, could I also become a vampire?”

Aiden asked seriously.

He had finally admitted that Arian was a vampire, but in his limited knowledge, the method vampires used to increase their kin wasn’t much different from zombies.

Nevertheless, Arian looked slightly uncomfortable and shook her head.

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Even if I tell you, you might not understand.”

“Still… I want to hear it.”

Aiden mentally prepared himself.

From now on, he vaguely anticipated what Arian was going to say.

However…

“I received the blood of the ‘Original,’ the first vampire. But I’m not a legitimate successor who received that blood directly from the Original. I’m a vampire artificially created by humans who killed the Original. So, I’ve received certain restrictions in blood succession, and as a result, I’ve lost the abilities that vampires should inherit.”

“…”

The explanation that came out of Arian’s mouth went beyond Aiden’s expectations.

Just heard it for no reason.

Although the thought briefly crossed Aiden’s mind, he soon nodded and opened his mouth.

“Anyway… Even if I receive your blood or get bitten by you, it doesn’t mean I’ll become a vampire, right?”

“You got it right. Yeah, that’s what it means.”

In response to that answer, Aiden let out a small sigh.

Then, he took out a clean blood collection set from the bag beside him.

“Well, let’s start by drawing some blood.”

Reluctantly, Arian nodded in response to Aiden’s request.

She extended one arm, and the needle of the syringe pierced her blood vessel. Feeling the sharp sensation, she frowned and opened her mouth.

“But do you have anything for me to eat?”

“Are two cans of canned food not enough?”

“It’s not about food. I’m talking about blood.”

Aiden’s gaze, while drawing blood, turned to Arian.

“By the way, I forgot to ask. What happens if you can’t consume human blood?”

“What do you mean, what happens? I’ll die, of course.”

Though Arian spoke as if it were obvious, it wasn’t such a natural thing for Aiden.

After all, weren’t vampires creatures that existed only in imagination in this world?

So, he asked the question.

“Then, how much is needed for survival?”

“Well… If we assume I drank about as much as yesterday, I can last about a week without doing anything.”

“Does that mean there are conditions where more blood is needed?”

Arian let out a sigh as the continued questions seemed to tire her.

But she dutifully answered Aiden’s question.

“That’s right. My powers, magic, and regenerative ability all consume human blood. So, in simpler terms, if I fight like I did earlier, I’ll need more blood.”

“So, how much was consumed today?”

“About five days’ worth, I guess?”

At that, Aiden clicked his tongue briefly.

The blood he gave Arian yesterday was 200ml. With that, she could last for seven days, but it decreased by five days after just one battle.

Considering that regular blood donations consume 400-500ml of blood, and the donor needs an 8-week recovery period afterward…

Arian was undoubtedly a formidable force, but unfortunately, her fuel efficiency wasn’t great.

Assuming she fought every day, it meant he would need nearly dozens of donors.

“Is there no more blood than that?”

“Nope. But anyway, I plan to replenish it tomorrow, so endure until then.”

“Tomorrow…?”

Arian’s eyes glowed with anticipation.

She must have sensed that she could finally meet a human in this world who wasn’t a zombie like Aiden.

“So, your business is done?”

With those words, Arian stood up.

Aiden had temporarily arranged for her to use a different room on the 5th floor. There was no reason for Arian to stay with him during the night, so it was only natural.

“Keep it quiet at night. As I said, no lighting fires either.”

“I told you, I know.”

Saying that, Arian closed Aiden’s door and left.

Aiden briefly watched her leaving and then looked at the syringe containing Arian’s blood.

With about an hour left until sunset, he began to execute several experiments he had thought of during that time.

* * *

The next day.

Aiden revisited the ‘Merchant Cooperative’ to receive the reward for the mission.

And the one who greeted him with an unusually enthusiastic welcome was, of course, Anders.

“Oh my goodness… Have my eyes finally gone bad? Aiden is bringing a girl.”

“Keep your mouth shut, Anders.”

“No, it’s not about chatter or not. It’s just a fact. Does a zombie need a girlfriend? Is that what’s going on in the world?”

Anders whispered such gossip to Aiden, who had just entered the barrier.

Aiden opened his mouth with a short sigh.

“She’s a survivor I met while solving your quest. I only brought her here because she needed some help.”

“Survivor?”

Anders said as he glanced toward Arian, who was still outside the barrier.

“Is that woman the one you guarantee?”

Aiden shook his head in response.

“No, I don’t guarantee anything.”

“Really…?”

“If I were to give you advice, she’s a dangerous woman.”

“Dangerous? In what way?”

Aiden explained to Anders the combat capabilities of Arian that he knew.

She could split zombies with her nails, cut through mutants with a knife, and leap two meters high.

Upon hearing this, Anders’ expression strangely twisted.

“Aiden, did you take some kind of drug?”

“I clearly stated the facts. Whether you believe it or not, the rest is up to you to figure out.”

“No… What are you suddenly trying to do?”

Although Anders spoke as if it were absurd, Aiden remained silent.

In response, Anders sighed and turned to look at Arian.

Despite the numerous gun barrels lined up in front of the barrier, Arian showed no fear at all, clearly indicating that she was no ordinary girl.

However, connecting that to the transcendent abilities Aiden mentioned was another matter.

It just didn’t make sense, at least not as a joke.

However, it was hard to believe that Aiden was just making fun of him.

Aiden was the most distant human… no, zombie, from jokes or pranks.

If he had to choose between thinking he was joking or thinking he was crazy, it was wiser to go with the latter.

So…

“Tsk…”

Tongue-clicking, Anders approached Aiden and beckoned several gang members over to confront Arian.

Although Aiden’s words couldn’t be taken at face value, at least Anders had judged that the girl was a dangerous presence.

The gang members went outside the barrier and surrounded Arian.

As Arian looked at them with a puzzled expression, a woman with a rifle among them stepped forward and gestured to Arian.

It was an indication for her to follow for inspection.

“Do I really have to do this?”

The fact that a body search was required to enter the barrier established by the Merchant Cooperative was already something Aiden had mentioned.

Only a handful of individuals, such as executives of the cooperative who were vouched for by the association, could be exempted.

“It’s a safety check. Just go quietly.”

So Aiden told Arian.

Arian frowned, entered a makeshift tent near the barrier, and the gang members stood guard around her sternly.

Body searches checked whether weapons were hidden or if there were marks from being bitten by zombies.

Since Arian had neither, as long as she came back quietly, there would probably be no trouble.

Meanwhile, while Arian was temporarily away, Anders spoke up.

“So, what’s the deal with that young lady?”

“She’s a vampire.”

“What?”

Anders exclaimed.

But Aiden didn’t want to provide detailed explanations about that.

So, he simply conveyed the essential information that Anders should be aware of.

“I don’t know much either. But, as I said, she’s a dangerous woman.”

“Why did you bring that danger here?”

“I brought her, but whether to accept her or not is up to you. If you want, I don’t mind letting her wait outside the barrier.”

As this merchant cooperative space was for business, even newcomers could enter the barrier.

However, all visitors here could not possess weapons within the barrier and had to prove their safety through inspections.

In other words, only a very small number of individuals, such as those vouched for by the cooperative’s executives, could possess weapons within this place.

On the flip side, this meant that these people were responsible for maintaining the security here.

“Anyway… What are we supposed to do?”

Anders scratched his head.

“I don’t know exactly, but there are no exceptions to the cooperative rules. If there’s no problem with the inspection, accept her; otherwise, she can’t come in.”

With a firm tone, Aiden nodded calmly.

With that, the topic concluded, and Anders brought up another matter.

“By the way… Have you already taken care of all the trappers?”

“Actually, there’s a problem with that. In short, things went wrong.”

“Really? Okay. When that girl comes out, let’s talk in a quiet place.”

After a while, Arian came out of the tent looking tired, and the woman who had entered with her nodded to Anders.

The result of the inspection was that there were no issues.

“For now, let her in. And you three follow her behind.”

Upon this command, Anders immediately gave instructions to his members.

Thus, with Anders, Aiden, and the gang members as an escort, Arian entered the warehouse inside the barrier, away from the hustle and bustle, where only a few people were moving cargo.

There, Anders, still keeping the rifle-bearing guards slightly behind, sat Aiden and Arian at a table.

“…?”

Anders glanced at Arian but found no indication of displeasure from her.

However, Anders, still vigilant of Arian, opened his mouth.

“So, tell us. What happened with the request?”

To this question, Aiden began to explain in detail the events from when he discovered the trappers’ nest.