Silence.
19-year-old Gerald held his breath, a sharp expression in his eyes.
"GRRRR!"
A zombie growled as it trotted round the bedroom, failing to notice the 'food' hiding in the closet.
No, not hiding. Only prey would hide.
He was waiting. Biding his time for the right moment to strike, saving his energy for one decisive attack.
He had never been in the army, never trained martial arts, didn't have an outstanding physique or exceptionally sharp mind. But one thing was sure.
He was in that zone.
'If I mess this up, I'm definitely dying.'
The slight fear in Gerald's eyes were replaced with resolve as he followed this train of thought.
'Any time now.'
The zombie trudged on, as if drunk, stumbling around the bedroom. But don't mistake this funny posture now for weakness.
Gerald had personally seen, through the window, as a zombie pounced on someone from three meters away, drool flying in every direction from the sheer frenzy.
He was not going to underestimate it.
'NOW!'
Gerald's body tensed as his eyes widened.
The zombie had just stepped on a cushion and stumbled clumsily, barely a meter away from the closet. Without waiting for it to recover, Gerald swung the door open and bolted forward, aiming the fruit knife he was holding directly at the zombie's head.
[A/N: It should be common knowledge at this point in human society that the weakness of a zombie is their heads. I dunno why most people in that situation just drive their weapons into the arms/legs/chest.]
"RARR-"
*THUCK*
The knife sunk into its eye socket by sheer luck, but there was no happiness in Gerald's expression, only a slight hint of panic.
'Oh shi…'
He bolted out of his room and straight to the main entrance that was ajar, and his expression finally relaxed when it was securely bolted.
But his expression soured again when he thought of the zombie he had just killed.
His friend, Damian.
'It was kill or be killed.' He assured himself, but he couldn't stop the pang of guilt within him.
He should have a more violent reaction to this. Hell, he shouldn't just be able to raise a knife and kill without hesitation his best-friend turn zombie less than half an hour into the apocalypse if he was just a normal teenager who happened to live in a 2 bedroom flat all alone.
But that was the issue. He wasn't just a normal teenager.
When he was ten, Gerald was diagnosed with a psychological disorder called the Depersonalization-derealization disorder.
In simpler terms, most of the time, he had significantly dulled emotions, including happiness, anger, grief, and even fear.
So, no matter how cruel it might sound, he didn't have much emotional connection with his friends, and even Damian was a work friend (they were freelance Web-devs.)
Before he could ponder any further though, he was interrupted by something.
A well of warmth from deep within him.
He stood up quickly, almost thinking he had been infected with the zombie virus, until a piece of information was transmitted into his mind.
{Mutation in progress, please wait…}
{Mutation Complete.}
{Detected that the subject of the mutation is intelligent life, switching the direction of mutation from physical to meta-physical…}
{Completed. Randomizing Mutation Ability. Ordinary: 99%,
Extraordinary: 0.9%,
Superior: 0.09%,
Elite: 0.009%,
Super Elite: 0.0009%,
Mythical: 0.00009%,
Semi-Divine: 0.000009%,
Divine: 0.0000009%
...@#%#...
Unique: 0.000000000000…00009%}
{Randomizing, please wait…}
{Completed}
{Ability: Limitless Evolution (UNIQUE – Stage One)
Grants slight improvement in physical ability, intelligence and perception. Can adapt to minor threats, like resisting poisons or recovering from injuries slightly faster. Grants slightly improved adaptability, along with relatively sharp instinct.
}
Even with his dulled emotions, Gerald's expression became a bit weird.
'Why does the mutation with the lowest probability of occurring seem a bit… weird?'
That was true.
These improvements seemed like what one would expect of an Ordinary Tier ability based on novels and games, but here it was.
'I guess the tier Unique doesn't mean it's particularly powerful or anything like that. But I have to take things as they come.'
*CRACKLE*
He felt his body shake, and grunted slightly.
The mutation was taking effect.
It wasn't painful, feeling more like a thousand ants crawling up and down his body.
He tried his best not to make a sound, but rolled on the ground from the sheer itchiness, tears in his eyes.
'What the actual F*CK!'
A few minutes of agony passed, before it finally subsided.
Gerald took in deep breaths on the floor before finally standing up.
'This is slight?'
He could feel up to a 50% increase in his physique, with his muscles becoming much more defined, and felt a clear increase in thinking speed, his senses becoming sharper.
*BANG!*
He looked towards the door behind him.
*BANG!*
'Not again!'
He gritted his teeth and held his knife in a reverse grip, backing away from the door.