Meanwhile, Zack's group was taking care of killing the remaining zombies. The fight was already coming to an end, but the mood was not entirely good. Two of the team would soon become infected due to the lack of antidotes.
Still, everyone was surprised that they were able to defeat the zombies much more easily than they had expected. When the second wave of more powerful zombies attacked, everyone thought it would be a desperate fight. However, they were surprised at how easy the fight turned out to be. The individual zombies were stronger and smarter than the Stalkers, but there were fewer of them and, for some reason, they did not try to surround their position or attack another way, even though zombies with the same power had proven capable of it in the past.
Arlem had watched the battle from a safe place, always ready to heal those in need and to deliver antidotes when necessary. For him the world had become an annoying place. Fighting for his life was not in his plans when he retired.
Despite this, another part of him thought the world was interesting again. He had to admit that he found that the zombies were fascinating creatures. Did their bodies function like a human's. Where did they appear from and how were they created? He had many questions and, unfortunately, few answers.
But his interest in zombies paled in comparison to the implications of the System's existence. The very idea fascinated him like nothing he had ever encountered before. The fact that the entire universe could be something artificially created was something his brain couldn't quite process.
He had heard some survivors question his own existence, but Arlem paid no attention to such nonsense. Just being able to think about that option was a contradiction to that idea. More fascinating was to consider the existence of free will. If there was something powerful enough to create an entire universe, then it would not be a strange thing if it could also program the mind of every living thing in existence and the way it behaved and thought.
As he thought about this, another idea occurred to him. If there was something so powerful to create the System and the whole universe, then one could speak of God. So many fascinating ideas, all at his fingertips. Arlem hoped that by leveling up he could find answers to all these questions.
His thoughts were interrupted by the end of the battle. The last surviving zombies died without much trouble and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Arlem looked at his "companions", complete strangers whose names he hadn't bothered to learn. If there was one disadvantage in this world it was that he had to 'socialize with others,' which he had never been very good at.
"Hey, Arlem, everything okay? You seem distracted."
The one who had approached him was a burly man, a Warrior on whom an enormous amount of antidotes had been spent.
"I'm fine, just a little tired."
The man nodded and walked past him.
"Well, I think we all deserve a rest."
Arlem could at least agree on one thing with the man: everyone needed sleep.
After the storm, the New Sun Haven was immersed in an unnatural tranquility. All the survivors were relieved to be alive, but the relief didn't last long. With the first light of dawn, Carlos forced all the people who had not participated in the battle to collect the corpses of the zombies and throw them into the geological trap in the parking lot.
Adam woke up at noon the next day. The news of Miguel's death did not surprise him, but it did affect him more than expected, for it was another death for which he had to feel guilty.
Menil awoke shortly after Adam. He had been taken to a room on the first floor of the superblock, where Leonard had locked the other Infected.
"This sucks, Menil, after Arnold everyone will be even more suspicious of us."
"Unfortunately there is nothing we can do, Menil is the only one who has been able to evolve. Leonard and his friends could slaughter us at any moment."
Menil listened to everyone's conversations and then stood up. The other infected watched him.
"Arnold is a damn traitor, but I'm afraid he's right. For fear of rejection we are becoming weak. That must change."
"I don't think that's such a good idea…"
"I know you're afraid," Menil interrupted, "but there's no other choice. If we want to live well and not be outcasts, we will have to be strong. That means we will have to take every advantage of our evolutions. That may mean we can't live alongside the other humans, but we don't have to be their enemies."
Menil was aware that the path he had chosen was difficult, but he was willing to try. For him and for all the other infected who did not wish to abandon their human side.
Over the next few days the shelter was organized to conquer the entire suburb. Adam expected a second fight against the Breeder, but was surprised to find that Block 2 was completely abandoned. No one liked that.
The interior of the Block 2 superblock was a mess. The rooms had been turned into fleshy monstrosities that somehow died. Cleaning up the mess would take much longer than they had time for now, so the building was temporarily closed.
Adam couldn't help but think that something was missing. The System hadn't rewarded him for conquering a shelter, a message he was almost certain he must have received. The Breeder was also gone without a trace, which was even worse.
That same day Adam called for a meeting and it wasn't long before they met at his apartment. His entire group was present, as well as Zack, Anin, Arlem, Tracel, Carlos, Han, Leonard and Ivy. Leonard had not taken Miguel's death well at all, so he didn't feel much like participating.
"Where do you think the Breeder ran off to?" Adam asked.
"I hope to the other side of the world, after the beating we gave him," said Zack, who began to laugh. Anin smiled a little, but the others just scowled at Zack.
"What?" He asked when he realized that everyone was looking at him.
"Nothing Zack. Adam, I'm afraid that thing was able to do something to its haven"
"What do you mean, Carlos?"
"I'm not sure, but I think there is a way to change the original position of a haven. The Breeder has left and taken its shelter with it."
Adam paused to think about Carlos' words for a moment. They made a certain amount of sense.
"Don't you think the Breeder might have died? I mean, he was pretty badly hurt when he left," asked Ivy.
"That doesn't explain the disappearance of the shelter," Carlos replied.
"Maybe that's the way it is, the zombie dies and disappears with its shelter. It makes sense if you think about it that way," said Leonard.
"No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that conquering an enemy shelter triggers a System message and a reward. We didn't get either."
Leonard and Ivy looked at Adam.
"Well, I guess you're right," the first one replied.
"There's one other thing I'd like to ask. Adam, now that the shelter has been balanced, what do you plan to do?" asked Tracel.
"For now nothing, soon the famous seventh day will come. The System is supposed to implement many changes, it will be better to wait until they happen before planning anything."
"What is your goal Adam, in what direction do you want to take the shelter?"
Adam was silent as everyone watched him.
"I don't know. You'll have to give me more time to find that answer."
Tracel and Carlos looked at each other and both shook their heads at the same time. Adam could not have given a worse answer. A leader without a clear direction would only get everyone lost.
"I'm sorry Adam, but you are our leader, don't ever answer such an important question like that again. You'd better tell us right away whatever is on your mind, believe me, it's better."
Adam looked at Tracel with some anger, but then sighed and decided to answer with an idea that had occurred to him.
"I'm a geophysical engineer and one of its applications is the search for mineral resources. I think that may be the direction of the refuge, but without knowing what changes this transformation will bring I'm not sure."
"Okay, at least it's a clear direction. We'll start by evaluating if your idea is viable."
"Wait a minute Tracel, you're talking like you're the boss here, you'd better shut up and listen." Marlem interjected.
"Adam may be the leader, but he doesn't have the slightest idea of how to manage everything that has to do with the shelter. Carlos and I can take care of that part. Adam, you concentrate on the zombies and finding resources, we'll do the organizing."
"You're not very subtle Tracel," said Adam.
"It's not like you're going to trust me anyway. I simply want to imply that I'm playing fair. Besides, I didn't say anything about taking away your leadership, because despite what I thought before, I truly believe that a leader who is willing to fight zombies, or whatever, is the best idea."
Adam sighed, he feared he was falling into Tracel's game, but he couldn't deny that it was a good idea to leave him in charge of the administrative side, which was Tracel and Carlos' specialty. However, he also knew he had to be careful with both of them. Adam saw the shelter as something he had created with his efforts and in the last few days he had been excited at the thought of the future.
"One last thing, we need to discuss something important that I haven't mentioned, but I think now is the right time."
Everyone looked at Adam with some nervousness.
"It's about the origin of the monstrosity and what happened in the square that day. I think everyone is already aware of what happened when I looked right into one of their eyes."
They all nodded.
"The problem is that I left out one detail that wasn't important at the time. Remember the wizard who caused it all in the first place? He jumped out of the tree and disappeared into one of the tents."
"You didn't see him die?"
"No, and that's precisely the problem. If what happened in that place is a reflection of reality, then that man dedicated himself to casting spells against humans and zombies with the intention of causing chaos. If someone like that is alive and close to the shelter, he will become a serious problem. I think we need to find him and fast."
Everyone nodded as they listened to Adam and then the meeting was over.