Mutagen

The world had changed. Trees and deformed landscapes were everywhere, and everything else was in ruins. It was not surprising that there were very few routes they could take with their large vehicles. This very reason was one of the factors that made their journey much longer a couple of days ago. They had to find suitable routes, map out the surroundings, and avoid known Forbidden Zones, all while fighting the [Infected] along the way.

When the Black Lotus Group thought that the way back would be easier as they had already mapped out their route, they soon proved that they were wrong in their assumptions.

The road had more [Infected] than the previous time they passed by. It was not to the point that the route was unusable, but they had no choice but to stop every now and then just to remove dangerous-looking [Infected] from the middle of the ruined road.

And in each stop, it was expected that the members of the Black Lotus Group would end up besieged by the surrounding [Infected].

Despite already an hour having passed after they fixed the busted wheel, the distance they traveled was far shorter than one would expect.

However, there was nothing suspicious with these [Infected]. Considering that the Black Lotus Group passed by this same route before, these [Infected] might be the ones that got attracted by the noise of their vehicles and fighting. Unfortunately, due to a lack of other prey and stable geography, these [Infected] got stuck on this route, wandering aimlessly these past few days.

But then, as the Black Lotus Group reached a choke point of the debris-filled road where they knew there were no closer alternative routes, they were stopped by a blockade of debris. A ruined building by the side of the highway collapsed completely into the middle of the road.

The convoy stopped a distance away from the blockade. However, the experienced members of the Black Lotus Group did not get out of their vehicles.

Although the collapse of the building might be natural, it was not wrong to be suspicious. Sudden blockades might be a ploy to make people stop their vehicles and get out, only to be ambushed by the plot of those that blocked the road. These kinds of ploys were not new to the members of the Black Lotus Group.

"Stay inside the vehicles," Ren ordered through their communicator just to be sure. "Quickly withdraw from this location and find a road to reroute."

With those orders, the convoy immediately made a U-turn and drove back to the road they had just passed. Finding a new route might be a bit difficult in this area, and thus, the Black Lotus Group needed to backtrack almost fifteen minutes of their travel.

Unfortunately, among the ruins and transformed landscape they passed by, the only route everyone in the Black Lotus Group remembered was a path through a forested area.

However, taking that path was not something they would risk. Although by the fall of the highway during the earthquake, taking a path through the middle of a forest was always a bad idea in an apocalypse of mutated creatures.

But as they thought of finding another safer route...

ROOOOAAARRR!!!

Another roar, different from the [Abomination of Thousand Corpses] but had the same intensity, echoed into everyone\'s ears.

Everyone\'s sense of danger was loudly ringing as they tried to find out what in the world had caused that intimidating roar.

And the moment they saw the creature, their sense of urgency immediately rose to the maximum.

"Man the machine guns! Repel it!"

Tadashi commanded as the vehicle he was on was the closest to the creature.

One of the members behind Tadashi immediately climbed to the machine gun mounted on their Komatsu Light Armored Vehicle. On the other hand, Tadashi opened the door to his side enough to be able to shoot at the enemy.

And their enemy?

It was an [Infected Beast]. Worse, it was another [Infected] creature well known as a Boss of a Forbidden Zone.

A four-legged beast about three meters in height and more than seven meters in length. It had the features of a Japanese Wolf, except for having a saber tooth and its muscled tiger-like limbs. The most distinguishing feature of this [Infected] creature was its metallic fur and mace-like tail. Its fur was strong enough to withstand high explosives and completely repel bullets.

Tadashi knew these facts as he saw the [Armored Liger-Wolf]. However, they had no choice. Even if they could drive their vehicles at maximum speed, it was still no match to the speed of this creature.

The only thing Tadashi relied on by his decision was the information that while the [Armored Liger-Wolf] was immune to direct injuries, it could still be hurt by the impacts of the attacks it received.

RATATATATAT!!

As soon as the gunner was in position, Tadashi immediately ordered him to open fire. It was the same for Tadashi and the other members in his vehicle.

The [Armored Liger-Wolf] chased after the convoy when the barrage of bullets welcomed its existence. As expected, the gunshots did not damage the beast, although they managed to temporarily stop the [Armored Liger-Wolf] from chasing after them.

"Tadashi!" At this time, Ren\'s voice echoed in everyone\'s communicators. "We can\'t fight that beast! We\'re entering the forest!"

Everyone was reluctant, but there was no choice.

Although smaller in size, the [Armored Tiger-Wolf] was not weaker than the [Abomination of Thousand Corpses]. Furthermore, the beast had the speed and ferocity that the giant clump of corpses did not.

Furthermore, while smaller animals would be able to traverse the forest quickly and had the advantage, it was different for gigantic creatures, especially the dumb [Infected]. The giant beast would have no place to run in the forest aside from the road, limiting its movements and ability to use its speed to its advantage.

Unexpectedly, aside from the rough road and the [Infected] that the vehicles mowed down easily, the path through the forest was not as they had expected. The [Armored Tiger-Wolf] was still on their tail, but the constant gunfire it was receiving was hindering it from catching up to the convoy.

When Ren took the reigns and used her ability to hinder the [Armored Liger-Wolf], only then they finally lost its tail.

And in two minutes, the convoy reached the other side of the forest, driving along the road of the ruins of Tokyo once more.

But then...

SCREEEEEEEEECHHH!!!

A deafening screech echoed within a kilometer radius. It was an extremely loud screech that made the ears of some of the members of the Black Lotus Group bleed.

BAM! SCREECH!

The wheels of the vehicles made their own screech as the drivers slammed on their brakes. Everyone was feeling disoriented. Some even fell unconscious. Worse, one of the trucks crashed into the ruins as the driver became disoriented due to the deafening screech.

With their sight blurry and their heads feeling like splitting, those still conscious stepped out of their vehicles. It was a dangerous move. However, with the current situation, the first thing they needed to do was to regroup and assess the damage and situation.

Most importantly... Where that screech came from. That screech did not only cause this mess. It would definitely attract the [Infected] from a wide radius into this area.

"Damn it! Just what the f*ck is happening?!"

The gorgeous but a bit foul-mouthed Keiko cursed as she held her head in pain. Her ears were bleeding too. But it was not as much as their weaker members.

Keiko\'s frustrations were justified. They got a busted wheel, causing them to encounter the [Abomination of Thousand Corpses]. Next, the road was blocked, and as they backtracked their route, they came across the [Armored Liger-Wolf]. And now, this.

After Keiko\'s sight returned faster than everyone due to her enhanced physical strength and resistance, she immediately looked for the source of that screech.

And then, Keiko\'s eyes widened as she looked at the tall, ruined building not far from their location.

"Well, sh*t. You gotta be f*cking kidding me..." Keiko cursed at their bad luck. "What in the f*cking hell is the [Siren of Death] doing here..."

The [Siren of Death]. She was another Boss creature of a different Forbidden Zone. She was a woman around two meters tall with an appearance as if she was wearing a long dress made of human flesh and skin. She received that title due to her abilities that involved sounds. While the [Abomination of Thousand Corpses] was feared due to its size and being one giant horde, and the [Armored Liger-Wolf] had its armored body and speed, the [Siren of Death] was known for its ability to attract hordes of [Infected] and the ability to support those [Infected] to swarm their targets.

And what made Keiko curse out loud was the clear fact that the [Siren of Death] was one of the problems she faced in her previous expedition. Most of the deaths in that expedition were caused by the b*tch she was looking at right now.

"Ugh..."

The familiar voice snapped Keiko from reality as she turned her head around.

"Ren-sama!"

Keiko yelled in worry as she saw Ren stagger out of her vehicle and fall to the ground.

Ren\'s ears were bleeding profusely, and she was clearly in a disoriented state. And before Keiko could get to her, she had already fallen unconscious.

While Keiko immediately ran to Ren to help, Mako, who was in the same vehicle as Ren, also staggered out of the door. Unlike Ren, however, she was in a better state, and her enhanced self-recovery was already kicking.

"Ren-sama."

Mako was still dizzy, but she tried to approach Ren and Keiko.

At this time...

RATATATATA!

The sounds of the machine gun mounted on Tadashi\'s vehicle sounded.

When Keiko and Mako looked, they saw Tadashi operating the mounted gun. He was shooting at the exit of the forest they had just passed through, disregarding the fact that his ears and eyes were bleeding.

ROOOOARRR!!!

The loud roar soon followed.

It was when Keiko and Mako realized that the [Armored Liger-Wolf] already managed to catch up. And likely due to the [Siren of Death], it managed to immediately find their location.

"Mako! Keiko!" Tadashi yelled out loud as he continued to shoot. "Take Ren-sama out of this place! Quick!"

The two women looked around. All their members were not in shape to fight, except for the three of them. And with Tadashi volunteering to hold the enemies back, only Mako and Keiko could protect their master.

Ren was their only priority. With the order in place, the two women immediately looked around for a route to drive through their vehicle.

Then, they noticed. It was a dead end. The end of the forest path was a dead end.

There were ruins everywhere and no road where a vehicle could pass through.

The only route they could take was through the forest once more. However, it was currently being blocked by the [Armored Liger-Wolf].

"Mako, help me."

Keiko said as she presented her back, urging Mako to put Ren on her back. There was only one thing the two women could do.

Mako nodded, and after Ren was on her back, the two of them ran off with their master.

The other conscious members also began to recover from the effects of that screech. And as they saw Keiko and Mako running away with their master in tow, they only had one thing in mind.

"Hold the line! We\'re not letting these monsters past us!"

One member picked up his weapons and readied to fight.

And around them, hundreds of enraged [Infected] were already coming in waves, attracted by the [Siren of Death\'s] screech.