How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

On the opposite side of the stairs guarded by Aiden and Rebecca.

Squish!

There, in Arian’s hands, the jungle sword swung by Arian was just beheading one zombie.

Surrounding them were dozens of headless zombie corpses strewn about.

It looked like the scene where a killer with a machete had created numerous victims.

In the midst of it, standing on a corpse and raising her machete, Arian made a thudding sound and shook off the gore.

“Are you okay?”

Diana, who was assisting Arian’s combat from behind, asked.

Arian nodded calmly.

“It’s not a problem.”

It wasn’t just an empty boast.

Setting up a barricade on this narrow staircase and fighting off swarming zombies wouldn’t be disadvantageous for Arian.

Considering her physical abilities, she could even be more formidable in defense than Aiden.

“Hmm…?”

Arian’s composed expression suddenly sharpened.

Then she looked down the stairs with a short sigh.

Diana gave Arian a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“They’re coming again. This time, it seems like there are more of them.”

Even after a round of battle, Arian spoke with a voice that showed no signs of fatigue.

“Who are they?”

“I don’t know. For now, step back. They’re coming up faster than expected,” Arian warned.

Diana moved a bit farther from her original position, and soon, more zombies swarmed in.

“Kiiii!”

One of them was a mutant with the appearance of a child named Stinger.

“Ugh…”

Seeing the dead child turning into a monster and leaping around, Arian’s expression twisted with discomfort.

The fact that the creature was a real child just a few years ago made Arian even more uneasy.

However, Arian didn’t waver in front of them.

As if granting at least a bit of rest to these children-turned-creatures, she swung her sword more fiercely than before.

“Kii-“

The Stingers, who tried to leap over the barricade like bouncing balls, all fell with a crash, pierced by the machete bathed in moonlight.

They tried to attack Arian with their characteristic agility and even attempted to jump over her, but not a single one succeeded.

The reason was quite simple.

Because Arian was faster.

Stingers abandoned strength for agility as mutants, but even that speed couldn’t match a vampire, and deprived of their unique abilities, Stingers were nothing more than slightly smaller targets.

With one move from Arian, several Stingers fell like dominos.

Even Diana, who was protecting Arian from behind, was silenced by the power displayed.

However, before those Stingers were completely wiped out, Arian sensed the presence of a new intruder.

“…!”

Unlike humans, Arian’s eyes pierced through the darkness and focused on the floor below.

What was coming up from even lower than the 10th floor was a zombie with muscles, unlike anything Arian had seen before.

“The Brutal… was it?”

Arian furrowed her brow, recalling the name.

It was a name she had heard when she was with Aiden.

At that time, Aiden had casually shared all the information he knew about every mutant. It was a name she had heard from there.

He had said the creature’s power was unknown. It was just a monster from old stories that had only been passed down through accounts of witnesses.

However, seeing the Brutal directly, Arian had her own predictions about its power.

Although it wasn’t a monster from her world, having brought down countless creatures from other worlds gave her a rough idea of the strength emanating from those muscles.

And the power Arian saw in the Brutal’s eyes… was definitely not weak.

It was on a completely different level than ordinary zombies or Stingers.

Maybe even more threatening than Bigfoot that Arian couldn’t defeat alone.

There would be no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

Shortly afterward, a loud explosion echoed from the stairs on the opposite side. It seemed like Aiden had detonated the claymore he had set up there.

As expected.

Knowing that one of the two Brutals had reached that side, she already knew.

“Wh-what’s happening?”

“A dangerous mutant came out. Step back. We’re going as planned.”

Arian told Diana, who seemed puzzled. Diana also nodded as if understanding, and they ascended the stairs.

They, too, planned to use the claymore installed on the 21st floor.

So, Arian continued to fend off the approaching Stingers, waiting for the Brutal.

She either planned to lure him as bait to use the claymore’s firepower and explode him or, even if she couldn’t defeat him immediately, to cut off his breath right after.

Thud!

Meanwhile, the Brutal was ascending the stairs like an enraged bull.

Arian watched the Brutal, holding a pistol in her empty hand.

There was an awkwardness in her hand with the gun.

Originally, a gun wasn’t a weapon that suited her. Even after experiencing numerous battles, the experience of handling firearms was less than five times. And all of that was not to hit the target but to attract enemies with the noise and gunfire.

And that was still the case.

This pistol wasn’t a proper means of attack; it was simply to provoke the Brutal’s anger.

“Ugrraaaa!”

Soon, facing the Brutal, Arian carelessly fired her pistol at him.

She didn’t bother to check how many shots hit.

Just scattering the bullets and tossing the empty gun at the Brutal, Arian quickly ascended the stairs.

Then, from below, Brutal’s roar echoed.

If it followed them like this, it would be perfect.

However.

“Huh?”

Surprisingly, the Brutal didn’t move from its spot.

What on earth the Brutal was planning, a moment of doubt for her.

Another zombie stood next to the Brutal.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary zombie. It was similar in size to regular zombies, and it didn’t have the bulky muscles like the Brutal.

However, looking closely, its face… more precisely, its mouth was grotesque beyond imagination.

Torn lips and deformed jawbones up to the ears made its mouth look like that of a monster.

Its distinctive appearance clearly belonged to another mutant.

A Siren.

A mutant that emitted a tremendous noise from its mouth to attack humans and attract zombies.

Arian’s brow furrowed. An uneasy feeling rushed into her mind.

“Diana-“

Arian tried to warn Diana.

But the Siren’s mouth was already wide open, and it was too late.

Kiiiaaaaa!

Tremendous noise erupted from the Siren.

A scream so loud that even Arian couldn’t endure without covering her ears.

It traveled up the enclosed stairs, reaching Diana, who was defenseless, guarding the corridor.

“Aaah!”

With a scream and blood flowing from her ears, Diana collapsed.

Then, as if waiting, the Brutal moved.

“What the…!”

Confusion filled Arian’s eyes.

It seemed like the Brutal’s movements weren’t mere coincidence, as if it knew about their plan.

The moment she recalled Aiden’s words about their different movements from other zombies, there was no time to dwell on failure.

“Krraaa!”

The Brutal ran towards Arian and Diana, trampling the claymore.

Arian stood with her back to the fallen Diana.

They were in front of the door leading to the 23rd floor hallway.

The Brutal turned its maddened eyes towards Arian. For some reason, those eyes seemed arrogant.

“…!”

With a thud, the Brutal kicked the ground.

Arian, holding her machete, confronted its fist.

Clang!

The machete barely blocked the Brutal’s punch.

However, that was only for a moment.

In the next blow, the jungle sword broke in two, and Arian was thrown back, crashing into the room door.

“Ugh!”

It was as expected, or rather, more stronger than expected.

Several ribs seemed to have broken in an instant.

Nevertheless, Arian couldn’t stay still.

Quickly venting her pain, Arian got up from her position.

But the Brutal was already reaching out for the fallen Diana.

“Don’t touch her!”

Arian rushed forward.

As if the Brutal had no interest in the fallen Diana, he shoved her aside violently.

With a sound like being hit by a car, Diana rolled down the stairs. Her body fell to the cold floor next to the stairs.

But that wasn’t the end.

The nearby Siren turned its head in that direction. If they waited a few more seconds, its dirty mouth would open, and the following Stingers wouldn’t stay still either.

“These bastards…!”

Arian also couldn’t stand idly by.

For a moment, a fiery light flickered in her eyes.

Swoosh!

The Brutal’s fist, about to hit her, passed through empty space.

Then, a light flashed.

Squish!

“Uarghhhh!”

The Brutal screamed in pain.

The half-broken machete Arian was holding had torn through the Brutal’s chest.

And Arian passed by it as if nothing happened, rushing down the stairs.

In the blink of an eye, she exploded the head of the Siren that was about to devour Diana and scattered the Stingers.

“Kkuh…”

The urgent movement made the broken ribs release a wave of pain.

But Arian gritted her teeth and embraced Diana. Then, she descended the stairs. The place she headed to was the 23rd floor.

The sound of the Brutal chasing them from behind could already be heard.

Arian pulled out the grenade attached to Diana’s waist with one hand. She simply pulled the pin out with her teeth and tossed it casually.

With a loud explosion, the Brutal momentarily halted its pursuit.

In the meantime, Arian rushed into one of the rooms off the corridor and closed the door. Then, she laid Diana on an old bed.

“Diana, are you okay?”

Arian tried to check Diana’s condition first.

But right after that, Arian’s eyes wavered as she looked at Diana.

* * *

Aiden was running through the dark corridor on the 23rd floor.

Rebecca was ahead of him. The Brutal, one-armed, was chasing them from behind.

It wasn’t a very good situation.

According to the original plan, the Brutal should have already fallen on the emergency stairs.

However, it didn’t fall.

The muscular zombie withstood the firepower of the claymore.

Still, Aiden showed no signs of anxiety.

The 23rd floor corridor was originally a battlefield prepared for such situations.

As evidence, weapons prepared by Aiden before the battle were scattered throughout the corridor, different from regular firearms and more suitable for causing damage through thrown projectiles.

If the situation led to this point, facing a formidable enemy that couldn’t be brought down with ordinary bullets was anticipated.

So, Aiden ran through the corridor, briefly stooping to pick up a Molotov cocktail lying on the ground.

“Diana…!”

At that moment, with Rebecca’s newly uttered voice, a beam of light shone from the opposite end of the dark corridor.

It was the light from the flash that Diana had. That meant they were planning to use a claymore on that side as well.

Aiden’s mind was busy with thoughts of how to deal with the Brutal if they joined them.

However, his plans were quickly disrupted.

Suddenly, the terrifying scream of a Siren erupted from the opposite corridor.

“Of all times…”

Muttering with the terrible sound of the Siren, Aiden sighed.

To him, the Siren’s scream was just an annoying noise, but to ordinary people, it was a deadly soundwave attack.

Moreover, in a confined building like this, its power could only be heightened.

As expected, the events that followed were as bad as he had anticipated.

The claymore was neutralized by the Siren, and Diana received a blow from another Brutal without a scratch, thrown back toward the stairs.

Arian also seemed to have suffered injuries while facing the Brutal, and even Rebecca, who was quite a distance away, wasn’t unscathed.

Rebecca, with both ears covered, was slowing down due to the auditory disturbance caused by the Siren.

The newly appeared Brutal didn’t target Aiden and Rebecca, but went after Arian, but it was already a disaster.

Because people on the other side were also injured.

This meant that one of the two entrances had been breached.

Those Brutals weren’t only enemies that needed to be stopped. Small Stingers were still constantly crawling up the stairs. And a few of them came into the hallway through the stairs on the other side.

“Kiiiiii!”

The Stinger found Rebecca in front and rushed towards her like crazy, climbing the wall and bouncing off the ground.

Rebecca fired bullets at them.

However, in this dark hallway, shooting wasn’t enough to hit those quick guys.

“Go into the room!” Aiden shouted.

But Rebecca didn’t hear. The Siren’s cry temporarily impaired her hearing.

Aiden, realizing Rebecca’s condition, forcefully grabbed her hand and led her outside through the nearest door.

He threw a Molotov cocktail at the approaching Brutal.

The Brutal, engulfed in flames, glowed brightly.

Just like that, the door to the room was closed.

However, they couldn’t feel complete relief.

Molotov cocktails could only momentarily stop the Brutal; it couldn’t bring the creature down.

“The door… won’t hold.”

“I know. This way.”

Aiden gestured to Rebecca and opened the window leading outside.

Rebecca, realizing Aiden’s intention, opened her eyes wide.

Aiden immediately crossed over the open window. Then, he stood on the narrow railing outside the building.

It wasn’t a passage made for people to pass through. It was just part of the building’s interior, barely wide enough for one foot, let alone for a person to stand on.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment.

However, there was no other way.

A loud bang knocked on the room door. In an instant, the wooden door was greatly dented. Through it all, the disgusting smell of burnt corpses wafted out.

The door will probably be completely shattered by the next impact.

“…”

Following Aiden, Rebecca climbed through the window with trembling hands.

In this pitch-dark height, Rebecca felt her heart freeze, but she didn’t show it.

Pressed against the wall, she moved sideways.

Due to the rushing wind, her teeth chattered.

So, just after she crossed over the window, the inevitable sound of the door breaking was heard.

“Uaaaargh!”

In the empty room, the Brutal, still with traces of flames, howled.

However, Aiden and Rebecca were nowhere to be seen.

It continued its rampage, smashing the furniture inside.

In the meantime, the two of them, having passed the railing, set their feet into another room.