The conference room was simply furnished, and the faint, eerie growls of zombies could be heard from outside, sending a chill down their spines.
Allen leaned against the table, his face grim as he spoke, "From what we''ve seen, the police station has completely fallen. We can''t go there."
Ethan leaned against the doorframe, a bitter laugh escaping him, his voice filled with anger. "Even the guns are just for show now. This is insane!"
Allen shot Ethan a sharp look and coldly replied, "What will complaining do? Start thinking about what we can actually do!"
Ethan wasn''t intimidated by Allen. He lowered his voice, the absurdity of the situation still evident in his tone.
"I''ve seen zombies in movies, zombies in games. They run, jump, and bite people—I''m familiar with all of it."
He raised his metal rod and pointed to the floor, his voice laced with a bitter, almost mocking laugh.
"But those are just fantasies. How the hell did these things appear in real life? We''re hiding here like we''re playing some survival game—this is ridiculous!"
He looked at Allen, his gaze filled with complexity. "I swear, I still feel like this is all just a hallucination. Really."
Allen bit his lip, as if trying to hold back his own emotions. "This isn''t a hallucination, stop fooling yourself, Ethan."
Ethan fell silent, seemingly forcing himself to accept this grim reality.
Landon huddled in a corner of the room, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he finally looked up, his voice barely above a whisper, but unnervingly clear in the stillness:
"Where... where did these zombies come from?"
After he spoke, he lowered his head again, unable to make eye contact with anyone, as if afraid his question would provoke the others'' anger.
Allen’s gaze shifted to Eli, as if gauging the young man’s reaction.
“What do you think... about these zombies?”
Eli paused for a moment, as if caught off guard by the question.
He hesitated before slowly raising his head, seeming to struggle with organizing his thoughts.
After taking a quiet breath, he spoke, his voice laced with uncertainty:
“Uh... based on the current situation, these zombies... they probably weren’t naturally occurring.”
His gaze flickered between the others, as if seeking some kind of validation.
“Generally speaking, creatures with such high aggression and quick response time... they could be the result of a virus-induced genetic mutation.”
Eli paused for a moment, licking his dry lips, as if looking for the right words:
“This virus spreads rapidly, and once infected, it immediately exhibits aggression. Also, they’re very sensitive to sound... I guess the virus might have affected their cerebral cortex, enhancing their sensory abilities.”
At this point, he seemed a little uneasy, his gaze sweeping over the others again:
“Also, their mobility... it’s faster than that of an ordinary person. This suggests that the virus didn’t just affect sensory perception, but might also be enhancing their muscle reaction speed and physical endurance. Um... all things considered, it’s a bit like some sort of ‘weapon’ created through genetic editing.”This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Eli fought to keep his face calm, but the slight tremor in his fingers seemed to betray the nervousness and unease within him. His appearance seemed to say to everyone—he was just trying his best to act calm.
On the side, Ethan silently observed Eli’s expression, noticing his tense demeanor. His growing doubts began to fade.
Allen scrutinized Eli for a moment, seeing the subtle tremor in his fingers. His furrowed brow slowly relaxed a little.
“I have a question.”
Allen''s voice was low, almost a whisper: “If this was man-made, who do you think has the capability to create this level of genetic weapon?”
The unease on Eli’s face was even more evident now. He spoke softly:
“Honestly… it couldn’t be done by any ordinary group… it might be some big corporation, or even certain… nations.”
Allen nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he spoke again: “But what would be the motivation behind creating these zombies? What’s the purpose of all this?”
His eyes were filled with confusion and anger. “It’s not for profit, and it doesn’t seem like just a random terrorist attack.”
Ethan cut in, his tone laced with mockery: “Maybe they just want to watch the world burn, to see ordinary people fall into this kind of hopeless, defenseless despair for their own amusement. Some people, when they have enough money, their minds are consumed with how to get even more thrills. They don’t care how many people they sacrifice, as long as it serves their selfish and twisted desires.”
Allen frowned, clearly repulsed by such a heartless suggestion.
“Either way, we have to survive.” Allen’s voice carried a sense of finality. “Whatever their motives are, only by staying alive will we get answers.”
Eli nodded, seemingly agreeing with Allen’s decision.
But deep down, he knew that the virus explanation didn’t add up. The existence of these zombies went beyond the realm of science.
He couldn’t help but recall the dream he had last night, a dream that left him with a sense of unease and blurred impressions.
He couldn’t remember the specific scenes or details of the dream, but the image of the clock remained vivid.
The clock in his dream had shown that something terrible would happen at 9:00, but in reality, the disaster struck around 10:00.
The one-hour difference made Eli question the accuracy of the dream’s information.
However, what was undeniable was that there was some kind of connection between the dream and reality.
Eli needed to understand what the dream truly meant and what hidden truth it concealed.
Eli pulled his drifting thoughts back and made an effort to maintain the usual tension expected of an ordinary person.
In the current situation, exposing his abnormality would only bring more trouble.
Survival was the priority; only by staying alive would he be able to slowly uncover the connection between the dream and the disaster. Until then, any signs of abnormality must be kept hidden.
Eli shifted his gaze to his phone, pretending to press the screen a few times, then furrowed his brow.
He scanned the room, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation:
“My phone… has no signal. How about yours? Do any of you have a signal?”
Alan and Ethan exchanged a glance before pulling out their phones to check. Landon did the same.
After a few seconds of silence, each person’s face grew serious.
“My phone’s not getting any signal either,” Alan muttered, furrowing his brow as he swiped the screen repeatedly. “Not just no signal, even the network is completely down. I can’t connect to anything.”
“Same here. Can’t even make a damn call,” Ethan’s face darkened.
Landon looked up with a helpless expression. “Mine’s the same.”
His hand slowly dropped, his eyes cast down to the ground as if struggling to control some emotion.
He opened his mouth, but his voice came out faint, almost a whisper: “My parents... and my sister. What’s happening to them right now? Are they… could they also be…”
His voice grew quieter with each word, until it almost disappeared into his throat.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his reddened eyes, fighting not to appear too fragile.
But the hopelessness of being unable to contact his family, and the worry for their safety, was clearly etched on his face.
His shoulders trembled slightly, and he shrank into the corner, as if trying to make himself smaller. The pain of being powerless to protect his loved ones was slowly breaking his resolve.
Ethan leaned against the doorframe, his gaze shifting briefly, hiding a trace of unspoken unease.
Though he usually kept his emotions bottled up, in this situation, he couldn’t help but feel a deep concern for his own family.
“This is fucking messed up!” His voice was thick with suppressed anger and a hint of helplessness.
Alan stood to the side, his eyes landing on an uncertain corner, a subtle trace of worry crossing his face.
He, too, was worried about his family, but those feelings had to remain buried deep inside.
As the leader, he had to remain calm. He had to suppress his worries about his family. He needed to be strong, to be the pillar that the team could rely on.
He looked up and scanned the room, lowering his voice as he spoke:
“I’ve been thinking… Is it possible that this is only happening in New York, or is the entire world in chaos because of this zombie outbreak?”
His tone was deliberately calm and rational, as if trying to guide everyone’s thinking to prevent panic from taking hold again.
He glanced around the room at each person, before his gaze finally rested on Eli.
“Eli, what do you think? Is it possible this is just a localized disaster?”