"How was the haul?"
AA-12 asked lightly, seemingly uninterested in the dispute between M99 and UMP45.
"Not bad. Two crossbows—perfect for silent assassinations, and the bolts are reusable. They even have scopes for improved accuracy; ordinary people wouldn't react in time. Also, two backpacks of supplies, though I haven't checked the contents yet."
If he had to exchange the crossbows via the system, it would cost at least 10,000 resource points, which he couldn't afford. Obtaining them directly was a big gain.
"This is my oversight. I didn't expect the world to turn like this—having to defend against both zombies and surviving humans. From now on, after every stop, the first thing we do is check for other survivors. That'll be Rule One for our team."
Lux explained: "If survivors are armed and pose a threat, shoot immediately. If they have weapons but no hostility, notify everyone to stay alert."
"Understood," the tactical dolls nodded. Each was combat-ready, confident in eliminating untrained humans.
"Zombies can only be killed by destroying the brain. I tested multifunction Swiss army knives—they're ineffective. For close combat, we'll switch to Nepalese Kukri. Simple to use: just swing. Even Candice, if she swings with full strength, can kill a zombie."
Lux distributed eight Nepalese Kukri to everyone. Lianne was excited, recalling that at school their best weapons were chairs. Now, having proper combat knives made survival much more feasible.
Candice, too, had grown stronger mentally after witnessing her father's death. She hated the survivors who attacked him and wanted to protect Lux and the girls.
"45, stop at any vehicles we see. Keep alert around us; I'll check for the next usable car," Lux instructed.
With roughly 13,000 resource points left and only about 3,000 available for exchange, he also had to reserve points for anti-zombie virus serum. His short-term options were limited. Collecting and exchanging abandoned vehicles along the way would help him amass resources.
After equipping everyone with proper melee weapons, Lux retrieved the notebook Anna had given him. He hadn't had time to examine it before, but now he could review how the school produced a mutated "split-head" zombie. Perhaps the notebook contained information about other mutated zombies.
---
{I don't know if I'll survive, but I should record everything I see. If I die, maybe this notebook can help someone survive}
The first page, in neat handwriting, reminded Lux of the young girl who refused to abandon her classmates.
{For unknown reasons, Sharil suddenly went mad, biting her deskmate Kai. When a teacher went to intervene, Kai also went berserk and attacked}
{After confirming I wasn't a dream with a slap to myself, I attempted to call the police and an ambulance—but all lines were busy. The blood on the neighboring classroom door indicated the chaos, so I alerted everyone to escape}
Flipping a page, he saw Anna had meticulously recorded everything from the first day. The zombified students were devouring each other. One zombie had a massive crab-like claw that could easily sever another zombie in half. It even had two heads—was this still human?
{That afternoon, we discovered another new zombie, with six protruding spikes from its chest that could pierce others like a centipede. We didn't dare go outside}
{The crab and centipede zombies fought, but a fast-moving female zombie killed the crab zombie's head before disappearing. Later, she consumed the centipede zombie as well, her head splitting into a monstrous mouth as she devoured surrounding zombies}
{Eventually, nothing remained; all zombies were eaten. She even started eating the school's bike racks—steel! Thankfully, we probably wouldn't survive until she reached the main building}
{I might die, but I hope this knowledge helps whoever reads this next. Urine can be drunk as a basic water source…}
{I don't want to die}