The main mansion of the Reed family was slowly being taken back with the efforts of those still alive.
At first, they had some casualties and deaths which was due to their inexperience and not knowing the correct methods to kill the zombies but they had several elite guards to assist them so they gradually got used killing the zombies.
They started out with lower populated rooms of the mansion by using the security monitors to watch over the movements within each room that had been fitted with a camera.
Using their walkie talkies, they were able to coordinate their attacks and enter when the zombies were more spaced out or were away from the door they were entering.
It made it easier to draw out one then close the door behind them or to find a more secure place within the room to move to that was more advantageous for them.
Their methods were slower compared to the ones Brick had used but they provided a more careful approach which would save a lot more lives.
Brick's methods were too crazy and if there was a single breakage in the structure of the defences or someone messed up even a little then it would mean the death of him and those around him after being trapped and swarmed by many zombies.
Brick trusted in the sturdiness of the security post and was constantly looking out for the others around himself so those deaths had been prevented.
As the darkness came, many were forced to switch on the lights which had aided them a little better to continue their retaking of the mansion.
The dangers were still outside but a lot of the insides were becoming safer for them.
The glass windows were very sturdy and so were the doors so they did not have to worry about more zombies entering through the night.
However not every single thing would go as planned and not everyone was completely safe.
Within one of the rooms, there was a man who was leaning against the wall and was trying to sleep.
His face was slightly paler than usual and he was sweating.
A woman came near him and asked. "Are you okay?"
The man grunted. "Fine.. I am fine. Leave me alone."
He seemed to have a very defensive tone as he answered and then pushed her away from him.
The woman was just an ordinary maid so her status in the household was very low compared to those that carried out larger tasks and since things had changed suddenly, she was even lower due to people prioritising the strongest and most fearless people.
Once she had been spoken to in such a tone by someone above her, she immediately became a little startled and subservient. "I.. I got it."
It was not over as the man started to shiver in his sleeping state which someone else had noticed.
They shook the man and asked. "You okay? Hey, wake up!"
The man was woken up and growled. "Leave me alone!"
Just as the other person was about to turn away and go find a place to rest, they thought of something they had seen on a forum thread online.
They looked back towards the man who was pale and looked very sickly so they hesitated before going towards the others within the room.
"I think.."
"Yes.. but we need to check.."
"Every moment that we wait could.."
"Fine then we must check."
They did not care too much about offending the man since their lives were on the line if they did not act upon their suspicions.
Brick's forum post had become so popular that it was helping in many different ways to prevent more death and spreading of the virus.
In most cases, those that were infected would usually try to deny being infected in order to preserve their own lives.
Even if it meant living on for a little while longer, they would put those around them in danger.
Whether they were fully aware or not about the consequences of their actions did not matter too much since the casualties would be their fault either way but most who were infected were either too sick to think straight or were denying that they were really infected.
There were some that held onto hope that it was just a scratch caused by something else while others had that high of a fever that their had started hallucinating.
Just as the group approached the man and held him down to check him, he started to kick and scream with all his might. "Ah! Get off! Do not touch me!"
One of the women holding him down was hit across the face and fell back, once she fell back and looked in front of herself, she noticed something on the arm under the sleeve which had been pulled up. "There.. his arm."
Everyone's eyes turned towards the arm of the man then increased their force as they started to tie the man up.
Through the night, they had kept watch over him until he finally stopped yelling and became quiet.
The moans came a little later as the zombie tried to rise up and free itself from its bindings which had woken up the others while some who had been keeping watch stood nearby.
One of them had a look of dread on their face. "It really is true.. just one single mark on the body and this is what could happen. If we did not notice then.. we could have all died tonight."
The zombie had its head smashed open before it could free itself and many watched as the true reality of their situation had set in a little.
Brick had saved a group of people without knowing but it was not the only place that had happened as many similar things happened around the country.
Anyone that could read it and had done so had a better chance of living thanks to him.
The second, third or forth waves of zombie infections which caused more zombies to appear during the initial outbreak were prevented a little.
The first stage of the spread was through the rain and involved anyone who was caught in rain which happened during the night time.
The second stage came from anyone being infected by the contaminated water or being infected by someone that had already turned into a zombie before the morning had come.
The third stage came when the infected rose up and attacked others which had infected the living or killed their victims, that stage lasted between the morning to the evening.
The forth stage came when those that were still alive started realising the various patterns but were still hesitant to act upon their suspicions so it lead to a further spread of the virus due to their inability to take action, that stage could last anything between the first day to a week or month.
The fifth stage came once the number of infected started to reduce but humanities numbers had already been reduced by a very large amount which could be anything between the first couple of weeks to a couple of months.
The main issue with the amount of time for the number of infected to reduce per day is that it was usually when most people ran out of supplies, if they had not run out and were able to survive then they were lucky but most would have to venture out in a hungry or weakened state without experience dealing with the zombies so the number of infected would begin to spike again.
Not everyone was so willing to fight back against the zombies and would choose to hide within their homes for as long as they could even if it meant starving themselves and eventually attempting one last effort in their weakened state to gather more food.
Even after a long time had passed, there would still be those kinds of people among the survivor colonies which had never once confronted a single weak zombie.
Those people were like ticking time bombs in some ways because they could disrupt the stability of the city in their own way or could cause a large outbreak to happen within the walls they are protected in due to their own carelessness or own selfish motives.
One day had not yet passed and so many lives had already been lost to the spread of the infection and it would only become worse as time passed unless humanity chose to step up to deal with the problem.
As usual, there would be some organisations or colonies that would rise up within a certain time period to survive together but no group was without its own inner conflicts and difficulties so surviving was not always so easy.
Without a real goal in mind or a strong desire to reclaim the human world, many humans would be left without hope and there would be few that would be willing to constantly put themselves in danger just so they could kill as many of them as possible.
That was the case for a normal zombie outbreak but it would be a lot worse for those that experienced or knew about the current state of the novel world they were a part of.
The future was much more terrifying than what most could imagine because zombies would begin to evolve and would soon leave the remaining humans feeling weak and helpless until a solution finally appeared for them to gain the strength to fight back.
When the knowledge of the crystal nucleus were made public knowledge, it set off a wave of various groups forming to hunt the zombies and set up some form of way to fight back against the threat.
Meanwhile within the home of Brick, there was a small seven year old girl which had just finished exercising and then wiped her body with some wet wipes and a towel before changing into some cute pink pyjamas and her black hair which was tied into small pigtails had been let loose.
Cherie was much too tired to stay awake but it took a little coaxing and a short bedtime story to finally get her settled down.
She climbed into the bed and fell asleep while Brick had tucked her in then went to the other room.
There was Tristan and Alice in the room with him so upon seeing them, Brick spoke up. "Rest up for tonight then we will move onto the other half of this place before targeting the inner parts."
Alice nodded then spoke. "Alright, I will be going home for now. You know where I am living."
Tristan raised his hand. "C..can you not walk me back? It is getting dark now."
Brick rolled his eyes. "It should be safe so long as some idiot has not done something stupid. We have checked and there should be no dangers around so all you need to do is stay vigilant and remember your training."
Tristan sighed. "Fine.."
The experiences they had gained had let them increase their chances of survival but Tristan was still not too confident in himself.
Alice and Brick adapted much quicker than him and had carried most of the difficult parts the group had to take on.
As the group had grown, he had to force himself to participate so that he would not be left behind and others could take his place.
It was very easy for another person to catch the eye of Brick if they put in a little effort or tried in their own ways to make themselves be needed, although Brick was known to only have his mind towards the young miss of the Reed family, he was still a young man in his late teens which could be swayed by the charms of women or could fall victim to other temptations.
Most people that followed along after Brick had checked their houses and aided them if they had a zombie close by did have some among them which could be made useful over time but there were not many he could come to trust right away.
The only reason why he was giving over the water to Alice, Tristan and Cherie was because the sooner that they were influenced by the evolutionary process, the better their survival would be and he needed people by him who could aid his survival.
Awakening a single person was like rolling a lottery, their powers could come out randomly based on their genetics or affinity but it could also have a lot to do with various conditions and situations related to the moment of their awakening.
For example, someone with a strong desire to run away during their moment of awakening would probably gain a similar ability related to improving their speed.
Although the author did not go too much into detail about how each person gained a certain type of ability once they evolved, certain character would most certainly gain one as it had been written in the original.
Even if they had awakened an ability, the ability would be limited to their current energy or virus levels so they would be stuck as they were unless he helped them to improve further so he had the final say if they were to continue following him and would continue growing beyond that point.
Once they had to split up during the night and head back to their own homes, Tristan felt a little uneasy being left on his own again and walking back once it was getting darker.
Alice complained a little. "A grown man cannot walk home on his own… how shameful. Hah! Alright then, I will take you part of the way."
Tristan revealed a small smile and looked relieved to hear her response. "Thank you."
Once they had left his home, Brick went back to eating what he could of the remains within his freezer then went to exercise to make use of the energy within his body before drifting off into a deep sleep. "Hah.. today has been.. so busy and stressful."