Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 24: Evolution

The three infected dashed towards them as a group.

"Let's spread them out. Edward, go near the car on the right. Sheila, you take the left side. I'll stay here at the center."

Jun stood between the two, and they made an arc formation. He chose this formation so he could aid them if they got in trouble.

Edward climbed up a nearby car's hood. He then shouted incomprehensible things to himself as he laughed. His voice attracted two of the infected as they switched direction to him.

Sheila raised the coat rack and aimed it at the lone infected's head, the result already expected.

Since two infected went in Edward's direction, Jun rushed to give aid.

Edward jumped down on the other side of the car, which divided the infected into two.

Jun taunted one by waving his baseball bat in front of him. Since it lost its momentum and couldn't lunge at him, it raised one of its hands and tried to maul him.

He dodges to the side then tripped the infected. It fell face first and stopped moving for a brief moment.

Jun didn't give it any chance to stand up as he swung his baseball bat downwards.

He stopped after two more hits and looked around. Sheila was already looting the body while Edward was feeding his hand to the infected.

His hand was being chewed by an infected, but he seemed not to be affected.

"Look! I've gained the immortal body!" Edward laughed and then mauled the infected's head with his other arm.

Before Jun could rebuke that he was just using a skill, a shout came from the store's entrance.

"I got it!" Adrian smiled while showing two padlocks on his hand.

"Shall we go inside?"

***

Jun took a glimpse inside through the gaps before fully opening the shutters. It created a lot of noise, but considering that they just cleared the surroundings, there shouldn't be a problem in the meantime.

Jun strolled inside freely, accompanied by the group. They pulled the shutters down and secured its lock.

A spacious aisle welcomed them as they entered. On the right side was a stairwell with a locked gate, going up to the second floor. A school advertisement was posted on the wall.

They continued walking and finally reached the display area, where most of the goods were placed.

"We'll stay for the night here. It's almost dark outside, and we need a safe place to rest."

When Jun mentioned that they could rest, Adrian and Sheila felt relieved. Even though they adapted quickly, everything was still a new experience for them. They were both physically and mentally tired. Not even half a day had passed, but a lot of things have already happened.

Humans are social animals. After surviving with each other, they become closer to each other. Everyone gathered at the center of the display area, sitting on white monoblock chairs.

They started introducing themselves and began chatting merrily with each other. The old manager was called Bernard, and his four employees were Alex, Jamie, Kareen, and Ester. The two middle-aged women were Gina and Dyna; both were fish vendors on the wet market.

After the introductions, Jun's group camped around the stock room since it has electric fans available in the area.

Sheila watched the youthful aura of the employees as they went on a shopping spree.

She asked Jun. "Aren't we going to stock up on food?"

"We don't have enough space. I'm going out to babysit Edward into leveling up, so we can have another dimensional storage."

Jun then looked around and whispered, "Let them do what they want. Just observe them, look for anyone who seems useful."

Jun invited Edward to his faction, which he accepted, and then they walked towards the entrance. He was stopped by Gina, who thanked him for saving her life. He explained that she should be thanking Shiela since most of the credit goes to her skills.

Jun and Edward left the store confidently like everything will go the way they wanted things; it didn't.

They came back when the sky became slightly dark. Edward leveled up, and Jun got a free stat point, which he put further into strength, reaching 13.

Their goal was achieved but not without injuries; Edward's right hand got bit.

When Jun narrated the story, their small group couldn't help but shake their head. Edward could only smile wryly as he accepted Adrian and Sheila's rebuking gazes.

Edward insisted that he train on using energy instead of using a weapon. He got bitten because he couldn't use his aura to protect his hands. With a little brainstorming, they concluded that he probably doesn't have enough energy to continue using the skill.

Once the protection aura was gone, his hand became a soft delicacy for the infected to nibble on.

Luckily, the bite was shallow and didn't take any of his flesh. Looking at the bite's swollen appearance, he would probably need a long time before he could fight again.

After receiving first aid and basic heals from Sheila, Edward's complexion somewhat eased. He still looked nervous, but he's finally starting to talk like his usual self, which didn't impress anyone.

Jun taught him the basics of navigating on the menu. He also advised him to start practicing control over his energy consumption so that similar incidents wouldn't happen.

Adrian tested his stealth skill while walking around the area. Although it only lowers his presence and not actual invisibility, he was still happy with the results. As long as he doesn't speak or intentionally block someone, no one will notice him.

With Edward's newly gained dimensional storage, they ransacked most of the canned goods section and a few gallons of water.

Their group of four became happy as they felt secure, and they would never feel hunger for the next coming days.

Some people weren't happy after seeing that they almost emptied one of the shelves. They just couldn't voice it out as Jun was in the area.

Seeing their attitudes, Jun gave them an ultimatum. He announced that his group would be leaving tomorrow and would accept anyone who can fight and kill an infected.

They would be protected, and safety is guaranteed, but they need to make the last hit.

Not everyone is fond of the idea; only Bernard and Gina came forward. Most of the bank's employees chose not to dirty their hands.

Jun explained the plan to the two. At dawn, they would go outside and kill the infected in the area. To be safe, they would only target lone or at most two infected at a time.

Jun assured them that as long as they followed the plan, with their group's protection, everyone will be safe.

The two of them couldn't hide their excitement after their small meeting. They went back to their own areas to rest.

Jun searched the second floor with Adrian's help. Adrian unlocked most of the doors then picked a room to slumber into.

The second floor is a private school, and has only four rooms, with three classrooms and one principal's office.

Jun went inside the office and sat on the swivel chair. Although not comfortable, it was still better than the cold floor downstairs. He dragged his tired feet on the table and closed his eyes.

***

It was a bright moonlit night.

In the middle of the street, an infected that had bulging muscles was chewing the face of a dead body. On its side was a lean infected that had one leg missing, devouring the leftover intestines.

When the moonlight hit them, they suddenly convulsed. They rolled on the ground for a few seconds, and when they stood up, something already changed in them.

The muscular infected become bulkier, its arms becoming longer. Usually, an arm should only have an average length of 2-3 feet, but this infected's arm reached almost 4 feet. The lean infected became slightly smaller and recovered its lost leg as it stood.

A clanging sound attracted their attention. The bulky infected roared and ran like a gorilla, making the asphalt road shake. The thin infected overtook the bulky guy as he dashed speedily and pounced on the rolling trash bin.

They looked around the area and left when they couldn't find anything.

On the other corner, a silhouette appeared. A man was chewing peanuts as he surveyed the surroundings.

The person beside him whispered to him, "I told you! We should have waited for him to come! Why are we out here in the middle of the night! We could die here!"

The man chose to ignore the angry person behind him and opened another pack of peanuts.