The three people in the room were somewhat uneasy when they saw that he hadnāt returned for a long time after leaving.
But soon, his concerns were dispelled.
Vikram, who was carrying something in his hand, entered the shelter unharmed.
"What exactly happened?"
"What was that sound you mentioned?"
Facing their questions, Vikram did not answer them directly. Instead, he placed the cloth-wrapped item in his hand before them.
He gestured with his eyes, indicating that they would understand if they opened it and looked.
The two carefully unwrapped the layers and layers of cloth.
Before they could fully see what the item was, a putrid smell mixed with blood wafted out.
Frowning, they pulled away the last bit of fabric, revealing a severed arm.
It was a highly decomposed, completely black severed arm, emitting a strong odor, with a lot of pus hanging in mid-air.
At this point, even if they didnāt want to believe it, they knew where the arm came from.
"Vikram, was the scream you heard just now from this thing?"
Vikram nodded, "My assumption was correct. The āresurrectionā on the Survival Platform refers to turning deceased Survivors into zombies."
He was so certain because when he killed the zombies earlier, he could clearly distinguish the style of clothes they wore.
Since most Survivors could only make clothes from cloth, the styles were made from uniform templates provided by the Survival Platform.
Thatās why he could tell at a glance that the clothes on the zombies were definitely the simple style exclusive to the Wasteland World.
Vikram himself had many such garments; after all, even the most powerful cold-weather gear would still be paired with inner lining.
Having already seen zombies, he remained relatively calm upon learning that the Wasteland World was about to introduce them.
The two girlfriends before him, however, turned pale at the sight of the foul-smelling corpse arm.
The smell even made them gag, and they repeatedly backed away.
They waved, signaling Vikram to quickly wrap the thing up.
Only when he put the corpse arm away did they breathe a sigh of relief, still feeling shaken.
Anjali, seeing Vikramās unchanging expression, asked in confusion, "You didnāt react at all. Donāt you feel disgusted?"
Hearing this, Vikram merely raised an eyebrow, "Of course itās disgusting, but I get used to it."
"Also, you two must get used to this smell."
"The number of zombies outdoors isnāt too many yet. When they truly form a horde-like scale, no one will be spared."
"I specifically cut off an arm, not only to have you spread the news in the small group but also to get you accustomed to it."
The first time Vikram smelled this scent was in the ruins. At that time, he had no retreat, and even though he wanted to vomit, he could only endure it all the way.
Now, smelling this scent again, he was quite used to it.
At the same time, he handed the wrapped corpse arm to the two of them, asking them to spread the news of the zombie outbreak.
Most people probably didnāt know about the zombies wandering outside yet.
After all, no one would dare to go out in -60 degree weather like Vikram.
Without an Epic-level cold-weather coat, they would freeze into ice sculptures within minutes.
Since this news would eventually be known to everyone, it was better for him to spread it first, which could also earn him more prestige in the group.
Then, if he wanted to inquire about any news in the future, it would be easier for him to do so.
Although Divya and Anjali were very disgusted by the virus-carrying arm, they could only comply.
They positioned the arm, took a photo, and sent it to the small group.
[Divya: (Image)]
[Bobby: Whatās this? Roasted human meat? No way?]
In the group, Bobby, who happened to be observing the chat, was the first to ask.
Honestly, if you didnāt look closely, the blackened zombie arm did look like a burnt human hand.
[Radhika: No way, Big Boss Vikram, is this what you get to eat at your Shelter?]
[Radhika: Otherwise, why donāt you two come to my Shelter?]
The group members replied too quickly. Before Divya could explain, a series of strange guesses poured out.
Enduring the strong stench beside her, she slapped her forehead, a bit speechless.
Finally, Anjali jumped in to explain first.
[Anjali: What are you talking about? Donāt spread rumors. This is a zombieās arm.]
As soon as these words were spoken, a very long silence fell upon the small group.
Only when someone spoke up to inquire about this, then the silence was broken.
[Director Aditya: How are you sure this is a zombieās arm?]
[Anjali: This thing is right next to me, giving off a corpse stench. How else do we confirm it?]
Director Aditya seemed very interested in the topic of zombies and spoke again to inquire.
[Director Aditya: Where did you get this zombie arm? You didnāt just pick it up in the wilderness, did you?]
Anjali didnāt rush to respond because she didnāt know either, and immediately looked at Vikram beside her.
"Tell him directly that it was cut from a zombie wandering near the Shelter." At this moment, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a little curious about Director Adityaās attitude.
However, he still didnāt ask directly, but let Anjali continue to reply.
Soon, after she repeated Vikramās earlier words, Director Aditya replied in a low voice, like a deflated balloon.
[Director Aditya: Everyone, a true catastrophe is coming. The situation might be ten times more severe than it is now. I advise everyone here to stock up on as much food as possible.]
[Director Aditya: In the future, it will be basically impossible to obtain decent food through hunting or similar means.]
[Bobby: What do you mean? Is a zombie crisis coming?]
[Director Aditya: Thatās right, and it might even arrive with other natural disasters.]
[Geetanjali: Why did zombies appear out of nowhere? Why didnāt the Survival Platform give any warning at all?]
Unaware of the truth, Geetanjali voiced the concerns of many group members who were secretly observing.
The appearance of these zombies was so sudden, without any warning, as if they appeared out of thin air.
[Director Aditya: First, I want to apologize to everyone here. In fact, as early as my last exploration of the ruins, I had already discovered corpses similar to zombies.]
[Director Aditya: I also thought about bringing these corpses back for research, but the result was that as soon as the corpses left the ruins, they would vanish into thin air.]
[Director Aditya: Thinking that zombies couldnāt leave the ruins, and that telling everyone in advance might cause panic, I never mentioned it.]
[Director Aditya: Now, Anjali and their discovery should be true, and zombies have indeed appeared outside the Wasteland World.]
[Director Aditya: Perhaps all we can do is stockpile food and work hard to reinforce our Shelters.]
[Anjali: Um, I donāt mean to be a wet blanket, but do you remember what the Survival Platform said during the last natural disaster?]
[Geetanjali: Of course I remember. It said that dead Survivors might revive, and that the land area would shrink.]
In fact, when most Survivors heard this news, their first reaction was relief.
Anything strange can happen in the Wasteland World, so bringing people back to life shouldnāt be impossible.
For those who had never seen zombies, they naturally assumed that the dead would simply revive and continue to survive.
After all, everyone would wish for their deceased family and relatives to return to their side.
Holding onto this sliver of hope, people who anticipated the change to quietly occur never considered its true purpose.
[Anjali: Vikram said that, according to his guess, ārevivalā means returning to the Wasteland World in the form of a zombie.]
The group fell silent again. This time, even Director Aditya was not calm.
Not only because the fantasy of reuniting with family and relatives was shattered, but also because the dead Survivors were about to become zombies and turn back to become a disaster for them.
At this moment, no matter where the people in the group were, they all, without prior agreement, opened the world channel to check the number of surviving people.
The number, less than half of what it was when they first entered the Wasteland World, sent a chill down every group memberās spine.
The damage brought by the natural disaster was not only physical but also mental devastation. At this time, no one in the group was in the mood to joke around.
They all began to secretly grit their teeth. As for whether they were preparing to die heroically or resist stubbornly, those were things Vikram and his group could not know.
However, Vikram did not have the two of them spread the news to pour cold water on anyone. Now, seeing that the situation was not right, he sighed and finally jumped out to send a message.
[Vikram: Donāt think so much. Zombies arenāt as scary as you imagine. I just casually took down several of them.]
[Bobby: How is it? Are zombies easy to fight? How do they compare to Crimson Creatures?]
His words ignited a glimmer of hope in the group members. Sure enough, someone asked about the specific strength of zombies.
For these Survivors who had not entered the ruins, Crimson Creatures were already the strongest monsters at present, so it was most appropriate to compare them.
[Vikram: If you have to compare, zombies and Crimson Creatures are almost equal in strength, and both are fearless in death.]
[Vikram: But you donāt need to worry too much. Zombies are generally slower than ordinary Crimson Creatures.]
[Vikram: If you have weapons like bows and arrows, you donāt even need to get close to deal with them.]
He unreservedly revealed all the important information about zombies. Anyway, these were things they would discover sooner or later. By telling them now, all the favors would be his.
[Director Aditya: Are there any specific weaknesses or characteristics of zombies that we need to pay attention to?]
[Vikram: Good hearing, poor eyesight. Itās best to shoot them in the head to kill them. Other than that, thereās nothing else to note.]
Seeing that Vikram understood zombies so well, many group members began to ask him for information, and Vikram tirelessly answered each one.
Even Kashif Ali, who rarely showed up on normal days, asked him about the current number of zombies, and he answered truthfully.
[Radhika: Big Boss Vikram is amazing! We havenāt even seen zombies yet, and all the information about them has already been figured out.]