Chapter 10: First Defense

Hoshikawa Yakumo's suspicion turned out to be true. Every building in this city was overrun by zombies, including the high-rise apartment she was staying at. She was just lucky that she lived on the highest floor, or else she would have already become a feasted corpse when she was still bedridden. Since the apocalypse, these zombies have emerged on the roads just in front of the entrance of this building.

The zombies emerged from a bud of flesh hatchery. A flesh hatchery was formed from the collection of any dead cells mixed with any molds that have aggressively evolved and acquired a sentience of their own, albeit quite limited in function. In the city, many dead cells came from humans, and the others came from insects and animals. Human DNA was considered superior to all of these dead cells, so despite only having dead skin cells as samples mixed with the others, its genetic makeup still became the main template for the flesh hatchery.

Thus, why zombies were born. They weren't the typical zombies who were raised through some sort of infection. They were created through the biomass that the flesh hatchery has accumulated. With the esoteric way they evolved, even if they only stayed idle, they would still continuously grow in strength. The instinct of a flesh hatchery was simply to make protectors from any invaders. The protectors they made varied on what kind of template was saved within their genetic makeup. Being an amalgamation made of dead cells and molds and having low intellect, they only made what they thought was the most dominant of all.

Humans!

Due to the small amount of intelligence of the flesh hatchery, the zombies they made moved stiffly. Most of their biology was wrong, and they sometimes were missing limbs. They shambled around instead of walking with purpose, and they only moved by their instinct.

Despite that, they have a terrifying ability. They could infect other biological creatures with their cells. So long as any of their bodily fluids entered the bloodstream of any living beings, their aggressive zombie cells would devour any cells and replace them with themselves, effectively turning the infected person into a zombie.

The people were taken by surprise due to the emergence of these zombies. The flesh hatchery was the first monster that emerged on this planet, and so most have been infected by their bites, scratches, and any damage their claws inflicted on any living beings they reached. It was too late before anyone could react. The city was immediately overrun by the flesh amalgamations.

The survivors knew that the apartment would be a death trap if they stayed in it. They didn't have any stock of food, and if zombies ever reached their floor, they had no way to escape. So anyone in this high-rise apartment has decided to team up and break through. They have succeeded and have managed to burn the flesh hatchery that emerged at the entrance of this building.

It also resulted in Yakumo being abandoned. The people weren't aware that she was there. They were more worried about themselves than checking any room to see if there were any survivors. Her door was also locked, so even those who attempted thought the room was vacant and left it alone.

After every survivor has left the building, a day has passed. The next day, zombies replaced the halls filled with the corpses of both zombies and humans.

And with all the survivors except Yakumo leaving the building, these zombies don't find the reason to go up. They simply target any living beings because the flesh hatchery needed more samples. Their evolution depended on what type of samples they consumed. Most flesh hatcheries that emerged around the city acquired an intelligence of their own after their minions devoured humans.

The biology of the flesh hatcheries couldn't be explained with normal science. They worked like hive-minded species due to the many dead insects, including bees, that were included in their aggressive evolution. Their biology was magically connected to every creature they birthed. So even if the zombies ate a person or simply infected them, the flesh hatchery would still get their template. The effect would be greater if they consumed a sample directly. The entire flesh hatchery was a giant carnivore that could gobble up humans by absorbing them into its body. By eating them directly, they could even get any traits that a consumed person had.

So they were quite enthusiastic about targeting humanity and any living beings as a whole. With their psychic link to their zombies, they get a real-time live feed of anything happening to their protectors. They could act immediately whenever they met a hard obstacle. Just like the survivors who managed to repel them. Having seen their zombies die easily, they made a larger variant that could survive fatal strikes like it was nothing. Because humans loved to hide, they made creatures modeled after lizards to sneak upon them. They kept evolving until they could dominate the opposition. Sometimes they even make other variants despite not having anything troubling them just because they thought they would gain more strength, hunt more efficiently, or feel more at ease if they did so.

That doesn't mean they were the dominant beings in this current era. Other creatures have also evolved along with them, and these creatures, unlike this mixture of dead cells and molds, gained more perks from their evolution. This included greater resistance to the zombie cell infections and adaptability to survive and even consume these cells to strengthen themselves.

Flesh hatcheries, and the zombies themselves, were quite literally at the bottom of the food chain in this new age.

It doesn't mean that they should be underestimated.

For days, these zombies have reigned supreme in this city. The appearance of another species of mold was competing with them, though these two don't fight each other, being both molds that don't give any benefits to each other. Their biology was incompatible, though both target the same thing: humanity. One devoured anything for their DNA, while the other simply absorbed anything in a person and left their skin tissue as their shell. Their way of life, hunting, and survival were different, but their purpose was the same.

To continue evolving!

So even when they don't tear each other apart, they consider the other as their competitor. They had no sense of camaraderie. They always compete for the resources available to them. That was the only competition that they could do. The tunnels, sewers, and any places connected to the underground sewers were filled with mutated rats and insects. Those insects were immune to zombie cells, and they were considered just another food source, so flesh hatcheries avoided extending their growth to those places. As for the flesh hatcheries that formed there, most of them perished while the very few were struggling, desperately trying to survive.

They thought that this place would be a paradise. The hatchery nearest to the high-rise apartment suddenly felt its zombies dying, becoming aware of the threat. They don't know who it was, but it knew that something sharp was killing its zombies, and those sharp objects came from above. These zombies have sharp noses and have sensitive hearing. So they were attracted to the clanging of fallen knives on the concrete road. The flesh hatchery in charge of the zombies being killed used these knives as a reference to find the culprit.

Being an idiot, it used most of its monsters to stay in that area, letting its horde of undead roam around in hopes that they found the culprit. It was weeks later that they considered checking the upper floors of the building. They became more enthusiastic when the mysterious assailant suddenly threw something that burned most of their zombie horde. Since then, it has happened on a daily basis, and this flesh hatchery has felt a sense of crisis.

It ordered its troops to find whoever was attacking it, while it tried to form a countermeasure against these fires. They could create a new zombie variant, but the cost of it would be huge. Flesh hatcheries couldn't surpass their weakness against fire and heat. They thrived in cold and damp places. They could process heat, but extreme heat like fires would kill them.

So even if it wanted to, it couldn't create a zombie resistant to fire. It needed more than just its generated biomass if it wanted to make it possible.

Days have passed. The new threat of their first natural predators in the open world, the black crows, has disturbed the many flesh hatcheries and husk leeches at their appearance. These birds have steel-like tufts of feathers covering their entire body, and their beaks are so strong and heavy that even their tanks, the muscular zombies, were easily taken care of. A few flesh hatcheries have decided to merge with the others just so they could fight against these threats.

Though this specific flesh hatchery doesn't care. It simply wanted to find the culprit behind the firebombing.

As the days passed, it expanded its search range. It forced some of its zombies to move up. The process was slow, as these zombies couldn't walk on stairs properly. They always stumbled and hurt themselves in the process after falling down the stairs. Though as time passed, the zombies gained experience. With their experience, the flesh hatchery also learned, which it shared back to all of its zombies. It didn't take long before they managed to get to the higher floors. The silent eighteenth floor has been crowded by zombies, and the nineteenth floor was next after two days. It was on the final floor when one of the zombies sensed it.

It was the smell of a fresh human.

This was how a zombie reached Yakumo's room, and later, the others were alerted after it confirmed that someone was on that floor.

______________________

The sound of banging and scratching rings in my ears. Frenzied roars resounded outside my room, terrifying me to the core. The door groaned at the maddened strikes of the monster while the hinges of my door clanged repeatedly.

How!? I haven't been making any noise at all!

... No, this is inevitable. I already expect some zombies lurking around just outside my room.

Now that a zombie knows I am here, should I start packing up?

... No. I have to try and defend my room first!

If I leave just because my base got discovered, then what should I do in other places? Will I just keep running whenever I hear monsters banging on my door?

No! Of course not!

But what can I use? Molotov is out of the question! It will burn me too!

There is only one way to enter this room. It's through the entrance that I've excessively blocked with a lot of duplicated furniture. At the forefront of that is my wardrobe. It's the largest and covers the entire width of the door, so I think it is a good thing to use that as a primary defense.

But I know that this is simply just stalling them. I need something that can prevent them from entering.

I looked around and saw the bundle of knives just lying around on the corner of my kitchen.

... Right. It's the only throwable object I have that can surely damage them. The golf club will be a last resort when the monster gets close.

There is a five-meter distance between the entrance door and the dining room. The entire path was filled to the brim with furniture ranging from drawers and cabinets to even an entire wardrobe. Even if that zombie destroys the door, I still have some leeway to do my own thing.

Before that, though, I have to prepare.

Even if I'm going to defend my room, I still have to consider my escape route. Throughout the month, I have been formulating my way out. I know where the fire exit is. I also know that there is a nearby cycling shop in here. If I rush it, I think, even without the elevator, I can still get to the ground floor within ten minutes.

In the eventuality that I flee, I will need a lot of essentials that will keep me alive. The golf club is obvious. Molotov cocktails are also needed. Generator oil is also important if I'm ever going to leave here, as I can't bring an entire generator on my back. Generators are quite common in most households, so I think that I can find one somewhere. My ramen cup and canned tuna still have some months left before they expire, so they are also important to me. I also shouldn't forget about the water bottles!

What else? Right. Phones and flashlights are useful, so I have to bring them. I need to charge it frequently, so a solar charger is a must. A power lamp... It's quite bulky, so I can't keep it. Induction cookers and water heaters are also bulky, so I have to leave them. Oh, I shouldn't forget about the lighter. It's quite useful for lighting up my molotovs!

I quickly act on it. Taking the usual backpack I bring when I scavenge for resources outside, and then bringing the aforementioned items. While doing that, I also shove in some essentials for my hygiene, like soap and shampoo, and also bring some of my clothes so I wouldn't worry about not having enough of them. I can just duplicate stuff, but I prefer wearing something new instead of duplicating something that I'm already wearing.

"Aaaaaaaaaauurrrrrgghhhh--!!"

Dammit, that scared me!

Right, I don't have time to dawdle on my thoughts. I can hear a dangerous noise at my door. I also noticed that there are other sets of noises besides that zombie.

It won't hold on much longer!

I quickly wrap up whatever I am doing and then push the table with a bundle of knives on top of it in front of me, acting as another defense between me and the zombies.

Just as I am done doing that, I heard it. The sound of wood breaking and the wardrobe blocking the entrance buckling. I gripped the handles of the two kitchen knives in front of me while staring unblinkingly at the door.

One pound. Two pounds. It continues on, the attacker relentless in trying to destroy my fortification. I can see the wardrobe tilting for a bit, pressing against the stack of drawers being sandwiched by the cabinets. After sometime, it happened. A bloodied hand emerged from the body of the wardrobe.

After that, the wardrobe completely broke into splinters. Beyond it, I saw them. Hideous faces beyond the broken door and wardrobe. They drooled and snarled as their eyes that only showed white glared at me. The power lamps around each vantage of my room illuminated at least a group of them trying to enter my room, crawling at crawling on the stack of drawers I put in there to supposedly stop them.

It didn't stop them. These zombies knew how to climb the drawers. When they couldn't push it, they simply just crawled on top of it.

"Eeep!"

I don't have time to think things through. I don't have any time to consider whether I can do this or not.

I just start throwing. Knife after knife, I threw it all in a panic. Contrary to what I believed, my throws were disappointingly inaccurate. Each throw simply swiveled towards an entirely different direction. Their point is not even going forward and simply flailing like an out-of-control coin. Despite not missing entirely, most hits only struck them with the handle of the knives. Some even see the side face of it. Only a very few dig deep into the flesh of the zombies, though they haven't done anything other than piss off the one crawling in the forefront.

Is this it!? Am I that bad at throwing knives!?

No, I don't have time for this. The zombie is so close--!!

I pick up the golf club I laid on the table and then swing it with all of my might. The head of the zombie whose hand landed on the edge of the table, causing the other knives piled on top of it to clatter, caved in with the force of my swing. Without waiting for it to recover, I retract my arm and then swing the golf club once more, slamming its head into a bloody pulp.

Surprisingly, despite the strength these zombies demonstrated by breaking through the door and the wardrobe with their bare hands, hitting its head felt like hitting a balloon filled with water. Its head was already spurting blood at my first strike. The second strike turned its head like a crushed tomato, blood splattering everywhere and staining my winter jacket.

I don't have time to even think about that as I look forward and see another zombie already crawling on top of the fallen one. Fear gripped my heart as I saw that, and my confidence of ever defending this room was immediately gone.

"Noooooo!!!"

And so, I instinctively jumped.

And the noises that overwhelmed the entire room suddenly vanished.

"Haaah.... haaah...."

I looked forward and only saw the corpse of the zombie I killed lying on top of the scattered drawers, cabinets, and the table. Other than that, there was nothing else. The entire world became silent. Only the shuddering breath in my trembling lips and the drumming beats of my heart echo in my ears.

... It's over. I can't protect my base...

I don't have a choice anymore. Now that I've jumped back to the alternate dimension, I have to do it.

I have to leave!