The sun was setting on the desolate city, casting an orange glow over the empty streets and decaying buildings. From the rooftop of the abandoned factory, a lone man watched the horizon, his eyes fixed on the dying light.
The sound of distant moans and shuffling footsteps echoed through the empty halls. The few remaining zombies were searching for the cause of their uproar but with little success.
Shinon sighed as the sun began to dip. He had wasted the entire day thinking of ways to make the Bloater attack him or at least separate the Bloater from the Screamers so he could take care of them one at a time.
But all his tactics and methods couldn't help him. It almost felt like someone had superglued the fuckers to the ground. However, Shinon found a few interesting things while agitating the crap out of the undead.
The Screamers won't act unless some criteria were met. One of which was the decimation of zombies inside the factory.
As long as Shinon did not kill most of them, the Screamer won't send additional zombies his way. He had no clue why it happened, but he guessed that the zombies were somehow connected or shared a conscience, and the nest's core was at the centre of it all.
Therefore the Screamers knew when to send another horde and when not to.
That's why he was chilling on the rooftop while the zombies searched for him everywhere. As for the second discovery... it was the nest's location.
"The nest was hidden underground all this time. Unsurprisingly, people of this camp had no idea about their existence, and by the time they learned about it, it was already too late."
The Bloater and the Screamers stood surrounding the entrance to the nest, protecting it from intrusion. Shinon didn't know whether underground nesting was a regular occurrence or not, but he was leaning towards the latter.
"Now to think of a way to kill those fuckers..."
Trusting Selena's words, Shinon could take care of the Bloater zombie in four ways. The first was with melee weapons.
Her exact words were, "If you have to fight them with melee weapons, use a sharp weapon like a machete or a fire axe to hit them at their vulnerable spots.
"However, be aware that their toxic gas can still harm you even if you don't get hit. So... yeah, it's the worst-case scenario, so don't even bother meleeing a bloater to death."
The second and third methods were similar, as both involved using fire in one way or another. He could use explosives to get rid of the Bloater's gas or use Molotov cocktails or flamethrowers. Moreover, Bloater's gas was highly flammable and could ignite to cause even more damage.
As for the final way... deal with the Bloater as one would with a Screamer: from a distance. But Shinon knew merely taking care of the Bloater wouldn't be enough. If the underground nest was left unchecked, more such Bloaters might replace the one guarding the entrance to the nest.
"Might as well use their darned abilities against them."
Shinon had a rough plan in his head, but something felt off. Why was he going this far to fight a battle that wasn't his in the first place? Killing zombies for survival was an instinct, but putting his life in danger to protect others was stupidity.
Of course, the quests he was being handed out had to be the reason. But the thought of completing the quest never entered his mind when he fought the zombies or devised a plan to take down aberrant zombies.
After all, life on the rooftop wasn't that difficult, except for the unpredictable weather. He had food and water that could last him for a couple of days, and Selena would arrive with reinforcements by that time.
"Will she?" an odd thought struck Shinon.
After all, he was a stranger to the Phoenix and the people of the settlement, and it was doubtful they would mobilise to save a stranger. As much as Selena might value him, she wasn't in a position of power to force others to help.
Not to mention, the Phoenixes already said how many have died during the test to prove their worth. In other words, his life wasn't something they valued much.
"They do need a blacksmith... but let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Shinon sighed and got up, looking at the pile of cloth he had scavenged from the fallen zombies. "Whether they help me or not, this is the best opportunity for me to complete the quest and be done with it."
Using a fallen zombie's attire was a disgusting but effective way of disguising one's human smell. It might not fool evolved zombies like the Bloater or the Screamer, but it should be enough to trick the ones roaming inside the factory.
"I could have used Shadow manipulation to get past them, but I don't want to strain myself unnecessarily. Besides, who knows what i'm getting myself into... it's better to keep life-saving tricks hidden for a while."
After covering every bit of his skin with the blood-drenched cloth, Shinon headed downstairs. He moved slowly and deliberately, mimicking the movements of the zombies around him. He kept his head down and his movements sluggish, trying to avoid drawing any attention to himself.
Soon, unsuspecting zombies were attracted to Shinon. But they weren't showing any signs of hostility towards him, so he kept moving.
As he moved through the group of zombies, he could feel their putrid breath on his face and their cold, lifeless fingers brushing against his skin. But he remained focused, knowing that he needed to keep his cool in order to make it out alive.
A random breath could get him in a shit load of trouble, and getting sandwiched by deadly zombies wasn't on his list of fetishes. The zombie's blood-drenched cloth wasn't a perfect disguise, but it was enough to keep him alive.
***
Mission Progress:
-> Learn more about different nests. (Completed)
-> Kill Roamer Zombies: 15/15 Killed. (Completed)
-> Kill Sprinters: 7/7 Killed. (Completed)
-> Kill Screamers: 0/2 Killed.
-> Kill Bloaters: 0/1 Killed.
Time Left: 2 days: 09 hours: 17 minutes