Adam ended up meeting with Tracel, Carlos, the important figures of the new inhabitants of Nuevo Sol and his entire group, with the exception of Marlen, whose injuries had been so severe that she would probably sleep until the next day.
"The zombie evolutions are very powerful," Zack interjected, raising his voice, as was his custom. "They are an important weapon."
"That's why they have to be expelled. It's like mining the garden of your house to defend yourself and end up without a foot in a single carelessness," was Leonard's answer.
"Well, in that case, I don't see the point of expelling them. The thought of what they could do if we let them go and they manage to organize the other zombies is scarier than any other option," Zack shouted. Adam had had enough of the same argument so he stepped in.
"Stop it! Leonard, Zack is right, if we expel them and they organize the zombies it would be the worst option. However, I'm afraid there is no one willing to execute them. Besides, it is an opportunity to get more information about the zombies and I think we should take advantage of it."
It wasn't the first time he had settled the matter, but the discussion seemed to come back naturally every now and then.
"If the leader says so, there's nothing I can do," Leonard said before grabbing a pot of water next to him and cursing as he reflexively tried to open the lid with his arm.
Adam looked away from the scene. Miriam had tried her best, but found it impossible to give Leonard his arm back. Healing magic seemed like the solution to everything, but it had more limits than expected. It seemed that if too much time was allowed to pass, a serious wound could not be healed with magic. There was the case of Marlen, as an example, who had lost an arm and was pierced by a zombie and was still alive and without side effects.
"On the other hand, I think we should talk about the next step. We need to clean up the superblock in block 2 right away," said Miguel, who wanted to finish the meeting and go to bed.
"I'm afraid we have a closer and more imminent problem."
Terry was speaking, as was his custom, through Rony. The drone flew a few feet above the table and for a moment focused everyone's attention.
"In our neighboring building, Adam, remember that my drone's sensors can't detect anything even though there are zombies in the stairwells."
Adam had completely forgotten about it. He was even starting to get tired of having to fight non-stop.
"We need to clear it tomorrow as quickly as possible and then drop on block 2 immediately. I don't know if you noticed, but the Breeder just sent the Windwalker after us and he never took flight even though he had the full advantage. I think he's recovering from more serious injuries than we expected. This is our chance."
Everyone nodded in agreement. The meeting continued for a while longer, but it was getting late. So everyone decided to go to their apartments. Adam left the superblock along with his team, with the exception of Noah, who stayed in the superblock.
Menil watched them as they walked. He and the other zombies had been relegated to the second floor of the building, in the far corner.
"Do you think they'll let us live here?"
Menil turned to look at his companion. His name was Arnold, a skinny boy and now paler than before.
"I don't know, so far it looks like they will, but that could change at any moment."
"Do you think we should tell them the whole truth?"
Menil thought about it for a moment. There was no reason to hide it, only that the subject had not been aired. He and the other zombies retained their class after the conversion. Something the other zombies didn't seem to have. Besides, their race said they were infected humans, not zombies.
It was as if they and zombies were different races. After all, zombies didn't seem to need to sleep or even go to the bathroom. However, Menil was beginning to feel exhausted.
"I don't know either. I'm still processing everything that has happened. There are too many things we don't know about."
"Why don't we ask the system. I hear you can get a lot of information that way."
Menil nodded and asked the system about the infected humans. The answer... he would have preferred not to know. Menil's stomach churned uneasily. With a lump in his throat he decided to reveal the next day what he knew, after all, at any moment someone could ask similar questions, so it would be better to talk first.
Menil looked at Arnold, who was looking at him with concern.
"Did you know about this information?"
"Yes, but I decided it was better for you to hear it straight from the System." What shall we do?
"Reveal it. I don't think it will be long before someone asks the same questions. Tell the others to prepare for the worst."
Arnold frowned briefly but ended up nodding.
Meanwhile, Adam stopped for a moment in the parking lot to observe the superblock. The others didn't notice him, so they left him behind. The huge building was now illuminated and most of the shelter's population was there.
A certain part of Adam still couldn't believe everything that had happened. In just three days of this hell, he had found himself on the brink of death many more times than he expected.
The evening air was cold. Adam closed his eyes for a moment and, for the first time since it had all started, he relaxed. The first thing he felt was extreme exhaustion. He tried not to think about anything, just let his mind wander at will.
He thought of his parents, who were possibly dead. He thought of his sister and what would be happening in the center of the small town where they lived. Beyond that, he realized that the army was probably mobilizing and that the capital would probably be a battlefield.
How many shelters were out there? Were there other races besides zombies? The changes the system had brought were so vast that Adam soon found himself overwhelmed by trying to think about it, so he simply opened his eyes and headed for his apartment.
Miriam was waiting for him at the entrance to the building.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
Adam thought, for a moment, about talking more, but stopped himself somewhat uncomfortably. Miriam just nodded and said nothing more. Together they walked up the stairs until Miriam said goodbye and went into her apartment.
Once inside, she approached the bed where her sister was resting. She carefully grabbed her tousled hair and began to comb it. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face. Miriam didn't know how much longer she could hold on, but after looking at her sister's calm face she felt strength again. She knew Marlen would throw herself headlong into whatever was in her path and she would be there to help her.
She let go of her sister and prepared for sleep, but just as she was about to go to bed she felt empty. She looked down at her sister's bed again, did she really want nothing more than to follow her sister? With an exhausted sigh she let herself drift off to sleep.
Adam continued to climb. As he passed near the Marriz apartment, he couldn't help but think for a moment of Tarin. The boy was in his room, trying unsuccessfully to learn the fireball spell he had acquired. So far, he had learned his spells automatically. It was enough to hold the book and think about learning it. But to his surprise, he was unable to learn the [fireball] spell. For the first time he opened the cover and read inside carefully. Soon he found himself learning much more than he had imagined. Willing to learn the powerful spell sooner or later, he continued his reading without being able to stop.
When Adam arrived at his apartment he could barely stay awake. He paused for a moment in front of his living room window and surveyed the city just as he had the day before. This time he was struck by the flames of what might be a distant fire. Perhaps signs that there were more people out there who had survived.
His exhausted mind began to wander again. He thought about what kind of zombies he might encounter as he explored the city. For all he knew, anything could turn up. He thought about what changes the seventh day would bring and how his Class might evolve.
His sleep cleared a bit as he thought about the things he could accomplish by being level 100 or even 1000. He let out a chuckle as he realized what was going on. Since graduating from college, he had lived a boring life. He didn't like to party or go out much with friends. The days melted into an endless sequence of repetition that had numbed his senses.
Worst of all, no one was stopping him from breaking that cycle and trying something new. It was he himself who had locked himself into his comfortable, monotonous world and was too scared to leave it. His family had tried to push him in another direction, but he refused to listen.
If his sister could see him now, she would surely laugh. It had taken a ridiculous apocalypse to wake him up again. Adam couldn't deny it anymore, he was excited. The combat was painful and he tried not to think too much about the amount of killing that must be going on. Even, in his little building, Mrs. Emma and the Zoila family ended up dying horribly, but Adam felt alive again.
He couldn't have asked for better. The last seven years of his life didn't compare to these last three days and things were sure to get a lot more interesting starting the next day.
Menil and the other zombies, the mystery of the neighboring building, the Breeder in block 2 and all the strange zombies that were sure to still be hiding in the suburb. All of that was just the beginning. Adam turned his back to the window feeling better than ever and went to bed with a smile.
Meanwhile, in Block 2, the Breeder watched the moon overhead. All around him, all the Windwalkers sat examining the pile of corpses piled up on the rooftop. After they were removed from combat, he ordered them to search the vicinity for human bones.
He did not expect to find many due to the voracity of his brothers, but, to his surprise, he managed to collect more than expected. There were no longer many missing, so the next day he would begin the ritual. His new spear would undoubtedly be useful against those pesky humans.
Then he turned to look at the neighboring buildings. The annoying instinct that always bothered him urged him to "conquer" them or something like that. So far he had ignored it, but he was beginning to think he would have to. He didn't consider humans a serious threat until today. That group escaped from the apartment and managed to fight their way through a large number of his brethren. If he wanted to defeat them he would have to gather more power.
The Breeder stood up, approached the tip of the building and fixed his attention towards block 4, in the direction they had fled. He couldn't deny it, so far the hunt had proven to be a dull affair. For the first time in his short life, his heart pounded with excitement.
He looked away and gazed again at the moon. That night he would not try to reach it, as had become his habit. He realized that if he wanted to achieve it, he would have to continue to evolve, and the fastest way to do that was to hunt humans. He lowered his gaze and promised himself that someday he would reach it.