How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“Tsk…”

Aiden, who had exited the warehouse, clicked his tongue.

He anticipated the presence of zombie mutants, but of course, it had to be Bigfoot.

The situation wasn’t favorable.

Among the mutants, Bigfoot had mid- or even low-level power, but unfortunately, with the armament Aiden had brought, it was incredibly challenging to confront him.

Currently, the weapons he had were, excluding the cold weapons, a shotgun, a pistol, a revolver, and finally, one stick of dynamite.

Among them, the shotgun, responsible for the main firepower, wasn’t particularly suitable for Bigfoot. While it excelled in taking down small mutants like regular zombies or trappers due to its excellent anti-personnel stopping power, it sacrificed penetration power. Thus, it was almost ineffective against Bigfoot’s thick skin.

The dynamite, while having some firepower, was scarce, and due to the nature of a thrown weapon, it was difficult to hit the target.

So, unless you were extremely lucky, it was right to expect to eliminate him with a single shot of dynamite.

So, what remained… The pistol and the revolver?

First, the pistol was an automatic one that supported automatic reloading, loaded with 9mm standard bullets. Moreover, there were ample magazines, allowing for some sustained gunfire.

The revolver had 7N31, a 9mm armor-piercing bullet. It was a high-penetrating pistol bullet with more gunpowder than regular bullets. He had brought this armament, thinking of dealing with trappers who used steel plates as doors.

However, at present, it had become the only means to smash Bigfoot’s skull and scramble the brain inside.

There were only six of these armor-piercing bullets in the revolver.

Aiden had to be careful with every shot.

“…”

He slung the shotgun back and first drew the automatic pistol.

Although 9mm standard bullets seemed infinitely smaller compared to Bigfoot’s mass, they were better than the shotgun as they could reach the bones beneath the skin.

Meanwhile, Bigfoot, who had aggressively pursued them to the entrance, paused for a moment.

This was due to the thick leather caught on the protruding side of the outer wall.

However, the poorly constructed warehouse couldn’t keep Bigfoot confined for long.

With a roaring noise, the warehouse’s outer wall crumpled like foil.

He would arrive shortly.

Sensing this, Aiden turned to Arian and asked in a low voice:

“Can you fight?”

Arian was still right next to Aiden.

If a battle broke out, Aiden couldn’t guarantee Arian’s safety.

However, noticing his concern, Arian chuckled and replied:

“I’ll take care of my own life.”

Receiving such a confident response, Aiden gave a faint smile.

It was natural to feel fear when facing monsters like Bigfoot, which were not ordinary zombies. However, it seemed that fear didn’t apply to Arian.

“Raaargh!”

At that moment, completely crushing the warehouse’s outer wall, Bigfoot finally surged in like a tidal wave of rotten meat.

In the blink of an eye, Bigfoot approached them, and its grotesque head came close to Aiden’s face.

What came with its monstrous roar was the flesh cudgel.

Its speed was almost as fast as a whip, and the power imbued in it was something a human couldn’t withstand.

However, Aiden was already reacting.

He leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the trajectory of the cudgel.

Bigfoot’s sharp claws brushed past Aiden’s nose.

While the disgusting storm created by the decaying flesh enveloped Aiden, he aimed the pistol at Bigfoot’s head with a cold gaze.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed.

Aiden skillfully avoided Bigfoot’s attacks, emptied the ten-round magazine in an instant.

However, despite the hail of bullets, Bigfoot was unfazed.

Due to the lack of penetration power and not-so-high accuracy, only 2 out of the 10 shots hit the head, and those couldn’t break through the sturdy skull.

The rest either completely missed or hit non-lethal areas like the neck or shoulder.

“…”

At this, Aiden frowned.

Engaging in combat with Bigfoot, who was rampaging like a mad boar, and hitting its head wasn’t an easy task.

He needed to somehow increase the accuracy to make use of the armor-piercing bullets in the revolver.

So. should he create an opportunity using dynamite, even if he had to?

That’s when he had such thoughts.

“What…!”

Unexpectedly, there was an interruption between Aiden and Bigfoot.

It was Arian.

But what exactly was she thinking?

Her action of rushing headlong without any strategy was not just reckless; it was downright bewildering.

“Huuaaah!”

Bigfoot reacted to Arian, who suddenly appeared between Aiden and him.

The fist of the creature, capable of crushing buildings, slashed through the air.

It was too late to dodge, Aiden thought.

However, at that moment…

“Ha…!”

With Aiden’s hollow laughter, Arian was leaping into the air.

To leap two meters in a single bound wasn’t something that could be explained by mere martial arts.

But that wasn’t all; Arian, in mid-air, kicked once again.

She landed unseen footholds in the air and, like an arrow, shot towards Bigfoot.

Swish!

At such a processed speed, her machete sliced deeply into Bigfoot’s flesh.

Bigfoot let out a roar filled with anger, but Arian frowned as she wiped her hand.

“That thing, its bones are incredibly tough. Can’t cut through it right now.”

Arian spat out discontentedly towards Aiden.

The thickness of Bigfoot’s arm was comparable to that of a pretty hefty wild boar.

Was that all she thought it would take to cut through it with a machete?

While Aiden chuckled at Arian’s confidence, he calmly analyzed her strength.

The machete she was wielding demonstrated a power surpassing a simple sword.

To split Bigfoot’s skin to the point of revealing bones in a single strike, perhaps even an ordinary person could achieve it with a chainsaw.

But even more surprising was her physical ability.

Easily evading Bigfoot’s onslaught was… it could be a more useful skill than her attacking power.

While Aiden was contemplating this, Bigfoot rushed at Arian.

However, she once again skillfully dodged Bigfoot’s attacks, making it look effortless.

“Hey, do something! Doesn’t it have any weaknesses?” Arian asked.

To the following question, Aiden nodded.

With Arian’s strength, he was confident they could deal with Bigfoot more easily than expected.

“The weakness is its head.”

“The head?”

“It’s the weakness of all zombies. To bring it down, you need to either pierce through the skull or cut the neck bone.”

Arian’s expression slightly stiffened at Aiden’s words.

Bigfoot’s bones were almost as hard as stone. So, even Arian couldn’t cut through it easily.

However, that wasn’t something she needed to do.

“I’ll take care of that. Instead, draw its attention.”

“How do I do that?”

“Anything will do, even for a moment. Just keep its head from moving.”

After some thought, Arian nodded.

“…Got it.”

Then Arian once again plunged towards Bigfoot.

As she cut through its huge leg, Arian began luring Bigfoot in the opposite direction of Aiden.

That place was… towards the warehouse building where Bigfoot had hiding.

Then Bigfoot chased after Arian, shaking the earth.

Bigfoot’s back was full of small wounds. It wasn’t made by Arian or Aiden, but by trappers.

It seems that Bigfoot had a fight with the trappers here, and eventually preyed on them and hid in the warehouse.

With Bigfoot’s attention completely on Arian, Aiden took out his revolver.

Seeing Arian’s movement, Aiden had already read her intentions.

What Arian intended to use was the collapsed warehouse itself.

As Aiden expected, Arian deliberately lured Bigfoot’s attack near the collapsed outer wall.

Bigfoot swung its arm, attempting to catch Arian flying like an annoying fly, but it only struck the damaged outer wall of the annoying warehouse.

Then, the already unstable warehouse shook greatly.

Just before the building collapsed, Arian leaped into the inner side of the collapsed outer wall.

It was an appropriate move to lure the crazed Bigfoot, but to Aiden, it was a move that was difficult to imagine.

Because if the warehouse collapsed like this, she would be crushed as well.

However, Arian ultimately fought with Bigfoot inside the warehouse, and in the end, one of the pillars supporting the warehouse broke due to the aftermath.

At that moment.

Finally, the seam of the panel on the opposite wall couldn’t withstand the weight and bent. Following the strained sound of metal forcibly bending, the entire warehouse tilted and began to collapse from the spot.

Even Bigfoot, who was furiously tumbling like a log, couldn’t escape the collapse.

As if being swept away by an avalanche, Bigfoot collapsed beneath the logs.

“…”

Aiden carefully observed the scene. There was no sign of Arian emerging before the warehouse collapsed, meaning she too was buried under the wreckage along with Bigfoot.

However…

“Huuaah!”

Unlike the quiet Arian, Bigfoot didn’t remain silent. Even in its state buried under the debris, the creature, glowing several times, slowly raised the heavy ceiling above its head, akin to a massive crane.

But what came into the slowly rising Bigfoot’s eyes was a silvery revolver pointed at him.

Bang!

With the dry sound of a gunshot, Bigfoot’s body swayed significantly. The 9mm armor-piercing bullet pierced through the center of Bigfoot’s forehead, penetrating its brain.

However, Bigfoot didn’t fall.

As if the small hole in its brain wasn’t much, it raised the debris that trembled with its shaky arm towards Aiden.

In response, the revolver expelled bullets continuously.

The remaining five rounds were cleanly fired, shattering Bigfoot’s brain without any error.

A moment of silence.

In the end, Bigfoot, a beat late, emitted its final groan and sank under the debris once again.

And it never moved again.

“…”

Aiden confirmed Bigfoot’s death and approached the wreckage of the warehouse.

It was to find Arian, who was beneath it.

“Arian, where are you?”

No response.

Instead, there was a thumping sound, as if someone was tapping on a panel.

The sound came from the end of the debris.

Compared to the central part where Bigfoot was buried, there was much less debris covering the top.

It seems she found a way out even as the warehouse was collapsing.

Aiden started removing the debris one by one, and soon Arian’s figure appeared.

“Are you okay?”

“Cough… Do I look okay?”

Arian, who barely emerged from the wreckage, was a mess. Covered in dust all over her body, her clothes were torn, and her left arm was broken.

“Injury?”

“Oh, this? Don’t worry about it. I’ll heal on my own.”

Arian said, waving off Aiden’s concern.

Come to think of it, Arian healed from the zombie bite wounds within a few minutes.

Aiden recalled that memory and erased the worry that arose in his mind. Instead, he remembered Arian’s achievements this time.

“…Quite impressive.”

It was a sincere compliment from Aiden.

It wasn’t just about her fighting skills. Going into the collapsing building, facing the nemesis like Bigfoot, regardless of being strong or weak, was undoubtedly her sacrifice.

Although there was a corner of his mind believing she wouldn’t die, Aiden knew it wasn’t an easy task.

On the other hand, Arian responded casually to his words.

“I told you. I will pay for the food.”

“…”

“More importantly, is this the end of the job?”

“Seems like it.”

“Then let’s go back quickly. I’m a bit tired.”

Arian stretched with one arm.

Her attitude seemed strangely familiar, and Aiden asked a question.

“Have you done something like this before?”

“Yeah. I briefly worked as a problem solver in the old days. In the world I came from, there were weird things, monsters like that. I mainly dealt with those.”

Arian briefly conveyed the story of her world to Aiden.

Without him realizing, her seemingly frivolous story no longer sounded like nonsense.