The nights were getting louder.
Ethan felt it in his bones before he heard it—the city breathing again. Not with life, but with hunger.
Every night after the others slept, he slipped from the base in silence. His boots barely touched the cracked pavement as he moved through the fog. The moonlight barely reached the ground; it just painted ghosts across broken glass.
He hunted.
Each swing was efficient, his weapon an extension of thought. He no longer needed to think about where to strike—the System guided him like a rhythm only he could hear.
「Kill confirmed. Points + 0.2」「Kill confirmed. Points + 0.2」
He frowned. "0.2 now? It used to be 0.5."
After unlocking the Job system, the rewards had dropped sharply. Ordinary zombies gave almost nothing anymore. The System wanted a challenge.
He glanced around at the silent street littered with bodies."Then I'll find stronger ones."
The Change
By the third night, he noticed it.
The air smelled different—like static and rot blended together. The groans were deeper, more guttural.
Then he saw one: a figure crouched on a car hood, skin dark grey, eyes glowing faint yellow. It moved before he could blink, darting sideways faster than any human.
Ethan swung; it dodged.
The creature leapt, claws cutting air where his face had been a second earlier. Ethan rolled aside, slammed his weapon upward, and crushed its spine with a single blow.
「Evolved Zombie – Kill confirmed. Points + 1.0」
He wiped blood from his cheek, breathing hard. "So they're evolving."
The ratio was changing—one mutant for every two hundred regular infected. Small now, but growing fast.
He could feel it. The city was adapting, just like him.
Morning Plans
When dawn broke, Ethan sat by the boarded window, sharpening the axe head with a piece of concrete.
Alice noticed the blood stains. "You went out again."
"Yeah."
"Ethan, you can't keep—"
He interrupted quietly, "They're changing. The fast ones. Stronger. They're called evolved now."
John, who was cleaning his weapon, froze. "How many?"
"Few for now. But the ratio's about two hundred to one. That's enough to wipe us if they swarm."
Emily looked at him nervously. "You killed one?"
"Barely," Ethan admitted. "They move like shadows. Ordinary zombies don't give me much anymore. 0.2 points each. The System wants me to fight the evolved ones."
Alice frowned. "Then we'll all train harder."
Ethan nodded. "Good. We'll need it."
Two days later, the four of them set out together—Ethan leading, John and Emily behind, Alice guarding the rear.
They followed Ashline Street, heading north toward an industrial sector they hadn't searched before. The plan was simple: scavenge, clear, and return before dusk.
The sky was a dull orange smear, the air thick with dust.
Halfway down the road, Ethan raised a hand. "Stop."
A faint echo drifted from up ahead—metal clashing, desperate shouting.
"Sounds like people," Emily whispered.
John gripped his spear tighter. "Then they're in trouble."
Ethan moved forward silently, signalling the others to follow.
The Fight
They reached a collapsed parking lot overlooking a small intersection. Below, four survivors were surrounded by a tide of undead—at least sixty zombies pressing in from every side.
Two men held the line with crowbars and makeshift shields. A third, younger man, swung a bloodied hammer. A woman crouched behind them, reloading a crossbow with trembling hands.
The dead pressed closer, moaning, clawing, piling over one another.
Ethan scanned the field. "If we don't move, they're done in a minute."
Alice's grip tightened on her knife. "Then let's move."
He nodded. "John—right flank. Emily—left. Alice, with me. Aim for clean kills, and keep them from breaking through."
They moved without hesitation.
Ethan leapt down first, landing hard. His axe cleaved through the first zombie's neck. John jabbed his spear into another's chest, dragging it backwards, while Emily smashed a skull with a wet crack.
The trapped survivors looked up in shock as help arrived.
"Who the hell—?" the man with the hammer shouted.
"Less talking, more killing!" Ethan barked back.
The four newcomers formed a wedge and cut through the swarm like a blade.
Ethan's axe danced in wide arcs, blood misting the air. Every swing crushed bone, every step drove them forward. Alice slipped between corpses, her knife flashing in and out of throats. John's spear kept the backline safe.
Emily slammed another corpse down, panting. "There are too many!"
"Then hit harder!" Ethan roared.
The man with the hammer—broad-shouldered, bearded—shouted over the chaos, "Name's Mark! The one with the crowbar is Nate! Crossbow's Iris! The old man—Orgis!"
"Nice to meet you," Ethan said grimly, crushing another skull. "Try not to die."
For ten minutes, the fight was a storm. The group moved like a machine—six fighters holding back sixty undead in the ruins of the street.
When the last zombie fell, the silence afterwards felt deafening.
The stench of rot and sweat hung thick.
Aftermath
Mark leaned on his hammer, breathing heavily. "Thought we were finished."
"You almost were," Ethan replied. "What were you doing out here?"
"Searching for supplies. We've been holed up in a warehouse east of here."
Nate—shorter, wirier—grimaced. "Didn't think the noise would draw a damned horde."
Emily handed Iris a water bottle. "You're lucky we heard you."
Iris smiled faintly. "Lucky, huh? Haven't heard that word in a while."
The older man, Orgis, wiped his blade on his coat. "You people new around here?"
Ethan nodded. "Base's about six blocks south. You can rest there tonight."
Mark looked at his team, then back at Ethan. "You're serious? You'd take us in?"
"As long as you follow the rules," Ethan said. "No noise. No stealing. Everyone works."
Mark gave a slow grin. "Sounds fair to me."
Back at Haven
By nightfall, the ten of them returned to the base.
Sarah met them at the door, surprise lighting her face. "More survivors?"
"Four," Ethan said simply. "They fought hard."
Mike whistled. "You're building an army now?"
"Something like that."
The newcomers ate quietly, grateful for warmth and walls. Lily shyly offered Iris half a candy bar, and Iris nearly cried.
When everyone settled, Ethan stood by the window again, watching the dead streets below.
Alice joined him. "You keep bringing people back."
He nodded. "We can't win alone. If they can fight, they're worth it."
"And if they can't?"
"Then I'll make them able."
She studied him for a moment. "You really think we can clear this city?"
Ethan looked at his hands, the faint glow pulsing beneath the skin where the System's power lived. "One street at a time."
He opened his panel.
Status Strength – 13
Agility – 10
Stamina – 12
Points – 55
System Function: JOB –
Active Note: Ordinary zombie yields reduced value (0.2 points)
Evolved zombie yields: 1.0 point
A new line blinked faintly.
Outside, the fog shifted. Somewhere in the ruins, another evolved creature screamed into the night.