As they walked through the desolate wasteland, Shinon had the urge to know more about the zombies in the world. After all, he rarely knew anything about what happened in the sixty years between his time and the current world.
"About the outbreak?" Selena asked. "Hm... people have different theories about it. Some think America was experimenting with some new biological weapon that got out of hand and caused an outbreak, while some blame North Korea."
She continued, "However, the most popular theory of it all is that of extraterrestrial contamination."
"Extraterrestrial contamination?"
Selena nodded, "It could be a coincidence, but right before the first outbreaks were reported, seven meteorites crashed in the countries where the zombies appeared for the first time."
Shinon's interest was piqued. "Do you really believe that?"
"I don't know. But there's some evidence to support it." Selena shrugged. "The zombies have some strange properties that any known virus or bacteria can't explain, so space zombie theory takes precedence over the rest."
"That would explain a lot. But what do we do about it? How do we stop them?" Shinon nodded, deep in thought.
"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? When the zombies began popping up, some people worked on a cure, but progress was slow. Heck, I'm not even sure if there is a scientist in the world anymore," Selena sighed. "For now, all we can do is keep fighting and surviving."
As they continued walking, Shinon couldn't shake off the thought of extraterrestrial contamination. It was a wild theory, but anything was possible in a world where dungeons used to appear on a regular.
Even Shinon first expected the zombie outbreak to have been caused by the dungeons themselves. However, when he questioned Selena about the dungeons, she had no recollection of such a phenomenon.
"I'm only 21," She threw her arm around Shinon's shoulder, "That still gives us like 39 years of history I never cared about. Maybe one of the elders in the settlement knows about these dungeons you spoke about."
"Yeah..." Shinon shrugged. Suddenly, Selena stopped in her tracks, causing Shinon to almost bump into her. "What's wrong?"
Selena pointed to a nearby building. "Look, a zombie nest."
The zombie nest was a horrifying sight, a collection of undead creatures congregating in one place. The only signs of life were the groans and moans of the zombies.
Selena turned to Shinon, a determined look in her eyes. "Congrats, it's your first field trip in zombie high school. Explaining about the nests while closely analysing one should give you a better understanding of what we're up against."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Shinon raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Selena nodded. "Trust me. It's not as dangerous as it sounds. Plus, you need to know how to navigate these places if you want to survive in this world."
Shinon hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Alright, let's do it. Lead the way."
While following Selena, Shinon cautiously made his way towards the zombie nest. His heart racing with adrenaline, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust at the sight before him.
The nest was a sprawling, tangled mass of decaying flesh and bones, a putrid monument to death and decay. Bones were littered all around the floor.
The stench was overwhelming, a nauseating mix of rot and decay that made Shinon's eyes water and his throat close. The air was thick with the buzzing of flies and the sound of maggots writhing in the flesh.
Shinon could see the zombies lurking in the shadows, their eyes glazed over and their limbs twitching with the telltale signs of infection. They were barely human anymore, twisted and malformed by the virus that had ravaged their bodies.
"How do we get past them?" Shinon asked, his voice tense.
"Usually, we don't," Selena said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "We avoid them at all costs. Once they've claimed an area, depending on their type, it's nearly impossible to clear them out without prior preparation.
She continued, "Taking care of a nest requires explosives, a plethora of other resources... and most importantly, survivors with excellent abilities. Things we don't have to spare. It's why the Phoenixes asked you to gather intel on a nest so that we can prepare and deal with it."
"I never knew it was this bad. How do people survive out here?" Shinon nodded, still feeling unsettled by the sight.
Selena shrugged, "We stay on the move. We scavenge what we can, avoid the zombies as much as possible and try to find safe places to rest."
As Shinon and Selena continued their journey, Selena explained, "There are also unique nests where zombies are led by a leader, Alpha or a more intelligent type of zombie. Whatever you want to call it.
"They can be highly dangerous, and it's best to avoid them. But honestly, if you stumble across one such nest, it's already too late. The Alpha zombie would probably already be aware of and eliminate the intruders."
Apart from the Hive nests, containing Alpha zombies, and Irregular nests like the one they saw before, several types of zombie nests could be identified based on their characteristics.
Firstly were Colony nests, or as Selena used to call them, Pre-hive nests. As the name suggested, these were large nests where an Alpha Zombie was yet to appear. They were home to a few dozen zombies and could be quickly taken out by a skilled group of survivors.
Next was the roaming nest; the sprinters they had faced yesterday were an example of this kind of nest. Typically, these zombies would merge with other groups, occupy an area and form a Colony nest.
Lastly, there were feeding nests.
"Feeding nests are usually the least dangerous of the bunch," Selena explained to Shinon. "They are smaller in size and contain only a few zombies.
"They are typically found near a food source, usually places humans can't avoid, even in an apocalypse. The zombies here are usually weak and slow-moving, as they have easy access to a constant source of food."
"Ah, the bloated lazy ones." Shinon chuckled, and Selena joined him.
However, a moment later, she got eerily quiet, as if words got lost in her mouth. "Hypothetically speaking, there's another one. A nest evolved from an Alpha hive. But no one had ever seen such a nest or left alive after seeing one, so information regarding it is scarce."
"Really? Sounds like something out of a movie."
Selena smiled before continuing, "I hope you are correct."
"That said, Breeding nests should be the most dangerous type of nests," she said slowly, "Since they have evolved from an Alpha hive, they'd be challenging to find and even harder to take down.
It's said that the zombies in these nests are more organised and coordinated, which makes them a formidable enemy. And there's something else..."
"What?" Shinon asked, intrigued.
"It's just a rumour, really," Selena said, looking around to ensure no one was listening. "But some people say that these nests are where the zombies breed and reproduce."
"...can they even get erect- never mind, I don't wanna know about it." Just the thought made him uncomfortable, "But for the sake of it, do they have zombie babies or what?"
Selena shrugged. "No one knows for sure. But the fact remains that these nests are different from the others, that is, if they exist."
Shinon nodded, taking in the information. He realised just how little he knew about the world around him and how much he had to learn to survive.