NOVGO.NET Chapter 21 Zombie virus.
Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Zombie virus.
Luna walked straight toward one of the larger tents before stopping. Glancing at her wristwatch, she noticed it was almost noon. 12:00 p.m. The sun blazed mercilessly overhead, its heat becoming more terrifying by the minute. Yet inside the survivor camp, a faint shimmering shield hung over the safe zone, keeping the worst of the scorching rays at bay.
"Okay, Luna, that was intense. It’s just clothes. It won’t make any difference in here, so it’s not something that should cause a scene," Kai advised.
Luna stopped scanning her surroundings and looked at him.
"I don’t do well with people touching my property or my belongings. These are my clothes, and I’m sure someone here is already coveting them. That’s too bad because I’m not giving a damn thing to anybody."
Kai simply nodded in understanding.
There was no point arguing with her. Whenever Luna had already made up her mind, convincing her was like trying to move a mountain with bare hands. Better to save his breath for something that actually mattered.
"It looks horrible here," Kai muttered, looking around the camp. "The rules... I can almost feel them. What are we going to do? And your plan... isn’t it dangerous?"
For some reason, his hope of escaping was beginning to disappear.
Now that they had finally reached the survivor camp, all he could see was an impossibly tall wall surrounding the settlement. It looked ancient, sturdy, and completely impenetrable. The only visible entrance was the massive gate, heavily fortified with armed guards standing watch.
Inside the walls were hundreds of survivors—maybe even thousands.
An unsettling feeling crept into him.
These might actually be the last people left alive on Earth.
"It’s dangerous," Luna admitted calmly. "That’s why I have plans A, B, C, D... and even more if everything goes wrong. In situations like this, you prepare for every possibility."
Kai looked at her for a long moment.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Luna had ever truly been terrified before.
No matter what happened, she always sounded so calm.
Maybe she was simply incapable of fear.
"Luna!"
A cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Luna, why are you avoiding us? Come here! You don’t know how excited I am to see you!"
Bonnie rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Luna in a hug.
Luna didn’t return it.
Around them, survivors glanced over with hollow, exhausted eyes—the kind of eyes people had after losing everyone they loved.
Luna almost sighed.
She didn’t know how to explain it without sounding like some heartless devil.
More people were going to die.
A lot more.
"Where have you been?" Bonnie asked, pulling back with watery eyes. "You suddenly disappeared, and I’ve been crying thinking you died. Simon said he saw your dead body."
She pointed toward Simon.
The moment everyone’s attention landed on him, Simon immediately looked away as if he suddenly found the ground fascinating.
Wow.
Why wasn’t she surprised?
Maybe because Simon had always been a conniving bastard who couldn’t stay loyal to one person. Seeing him here somehow felt completely expected.
"That’s cute," Luna replied flatly. "I died? I never knew there were two Lunas. Is there another one running around?"
Bonnie groaned loudly.
"Is that really all you have to say, Luna? We were out there looking for you! We thought monsters had eaten you alive, and after finally finding you, that’s your response?"
Luna stared at her for a second before laughing.
"Actually, this feels like one of those soap operas. I can’t remember the title, but I know this exact plot."
She folded her arms.
"You know what, Bonnie? Chris must’ve already filled you in on everything I said before. Stop dancing around it. Just get straight to the point and scold me already. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t."
Bonnie fell silent.
Her eyes briefly shifted toward Chris.
Chris suddenly felt uncomfortable standing anywhere near Luna.
Something about her presence had changed.
She wore a glittering dress adorned with ornaments that somehow remained spotless despite everything happening around them. Compared to the filthy rags everyone else wore, she looked less like a survivor and more like royalty who had wandered into the apocalypse by mistake.
For the first time in his life...
Chris felt inferior.
"I’m... kind of at fault too," he admitted quietly. "I didn’t give you any peace, but... those words were cruel. We were only trying to save—"
"Enough."
Luna rubbed her temple.
Her ears were beginning to ring.
Her head was already pounding.
She had honestly had enough conversations for one day.
Not far away, Kai had somehow found a seat.
A bucket of popcorn rested comfortably in his lap as he watched everything unfold with sparkling eyes.
He stuffed another handful into his mouth.
This was incredible.
It wasn’t every day you saw Luna arguing with people.
He had genuinely believed she had lived her entire life alone like some emotionless stone statue.
Turns out...
She actually had friends.
Or former friends.
Either way, this drama was surprisingly entertaining.
"So..." Luna finally spoke, fixing Bonnie with a calm stare. "You still don’t get the hint."
She sighed.
"Bonnie, don’t be dumb."
The smile on Bonnie’s face twitched.
"I’m not interested in rebuilding some friendship."
Her voice remained frighteningly calm.
"Be realistic. In a world like this, don’t you think fixing old relationships should be the least of your worries?"
Silence.
"I’m trying to survive."
She pointed at Bonnie.
"So are you."
Then toward everyone else.
"So is everyone here."
She spread both hands.
"So why can’t we focus on survival instead of this friendship nonsense?"
She shrugged.
"My only loyalty right now is toward staying alive."
Bonnie’s smile completely froze.
Her expression became so stiff that Luna almost laughed.
It looked genuinely comical.
Chris opened his mouth as if to argue but immediately thought better of it.
Simon also wisely remained silent.
Neither of them wanted to become Luna’s next target.
As far as Luna was concerned, Bonnie could deal with her own emotions.
She wasn’t interested.
Turning away, she noticed Kai casually munching on popcorn while watching the entire exchange.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh?"
Kai froze.
"So you’re enjoying the show?"
He slowly lowered the popcorn bucket.
Luna smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"Let’s see how much you enjoy yourself tonight."
Kai suddenly had a terrible feeling.
"Our first raid is tonight."
His face stiffened.
"And you’re taking the front line."
Kai immediately choked on the popcorn.
"Cough! Cough!"
His eyes nearly bulged out.
"What?!"
He hurriedly stood up, coughing so hard he almost dropped the bucket.
Luna ignored him completely.
[Target seen.]
[Target seen.]
Her eyes immediately shifted.
Apart from Kai, nobody else could see the translucent holographic screen floating before her.
A glowing arrow appeared across the display.
It pointed toward a tall, lean man walking away from the crowd without attracting anyone’s attention.
Luna’s eyes narrowed.
Rowan Ashfang.
Beast King.
Beast Tamer.
Luck really was on her side today.
She had expected to spend hours searching for him.
Instead...
He had unknowingly walked straight into her path.
Without wasting another second, Luna hurried after him.
Halfway there, however, something caught her attention.
A rat.
It scurried between people’s feet before stopping beside a woman sitting on the ground while breastfeeding her baby.
Without warning...
The rat lunged.
Its sharp teeth sank deep into the woman’s ankle.
"Ahhh!"
The woman screamed in agony.
Blood immediately soaked the dirt beneath her.
Luna didn’t even spare her a glance as she walked past.
Kai stopped walking.
"Let’s help her."
Luna shot him a cold glare.
"Mind your business."
Kai hesitated.
Everything inside him screamed that they should help.
But one look at Luna’s eyes made him reluctantly follow after her.
Behind them, the rat continued tearing into the woman’s flesh with frightening speed.
She screamed louder.
A nearby survivor finally rushed over with an iron rod.
"Get away from her!"
He brought the rod down with all his strength.
Crunch!
The rat’s tiny body slammed into the ground.
But...
It didn’t die.
Instead, its neck twisted unnaturally.
Its limbs jerked violently.
Its entire body convulsed for several horrifying seconds before suddenly springing back up.
Straight at the man.
"What the hell?!"
The rat latched onto his face.
Its teeth ripped through flesh.
The man screamed as blood sprayed across the ground.
Luna didn’t look back.
Her pace only quickened.
"Oh, shit..."
"The zombie virus is already here."
Her expression darkened.
This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.
Everything was changing.
Five days.
According to what she remembered, there should have been five more days before infected animals began appearing inside the survivor camp.
But now...
The timeline had shifted.
Things were progressing much faster than they should.
That meant the future she knew was no longer reliable.
She had to find Rowan immediately.
Behind them, chaos erupted throughout the camp.
People screamed as more survivors rushed toward the injured pair.
Several guards forced the injured man and the bitten woman onto stretchers before carrying them toward the medical tent at the far edge of the survivor camp.
No one questioned it.
No one suspected anything.
They all believed they were saving lives.
None of them realized they were unknowingly transporting the beginning of another death zone.
And by the time they finally understood...
It would already be far too late.