To the Start of a New World

2.1

The trucks rolled in from the distance. Lu Hao peered at them from his vantage point atop the wall while behind him, the other members of the Survivor Guard squinted, their hands blocking the sun from their eyes.

The military convoy had five trucks. That was three more than the last time.

Lu Hao's gaze tracked the approaching trucks, watching the dust from the dirt roads kick up from their wheels. It could be that the military trusted the SG more, now that this was their third cooperation. More likely, however, something had happened in the city which caused the military to tighten their resources — and as such, extradite any 'refugees' that the military didn't want to spend resources on protecting.

Now, in the third year of the apocalypse, it was impossible to survive alone. All surviving humans found refuge in bases—military bases founded by the government, or mafia bases backed by criminals and arms dealers.

At first, the government bases tried to take in any and all civilians who needed protection. As casualties rose and infection spread, however, it became impossible to support everyone. Anyone who wished to stay within the safety of the base had to prove their value by working and contributing, and those who failed to contribute sufficiently would be forced out of the base and left to fend for themselves.

Most of these people died, if not from the zombies then from exhaustion or starvation.

It was only in the area of F City that the 'leftovers' were not sent to die, but instead sent to another safehaven — the Survivor Guard.

That was a group headed by a mysterious young man whose powers were rumored to be strong enough to kill any zombie, even the advanced mutations. In terms of strength, he would be considered "S-class". An anomaly far more powerful than anyone, including all members of the military and of the mafia, had ever seen before.

Yet the Survivor Guard he led was exclusively a defensive group. The SG performed rescue missions in the cities, fought back zombies to free resources, and cooperated to restore stability to the region of F city. Over time, the SG's influence expanded until it was almost as powerful as the military force in F city. In light of this, the official government—or what was left of it, anyway—decided to officially recognize the SG as an independent group, and requested to cooperate with the SG for the sake of protecting the country's citizens.

The government would send refugees and resources to the SG. The SG, in return, would perform high-risk specialist missions for the government.

When the military caravan came to a stop at the tall barricade, Lu Hao jumped from the 4-meter wall, landing lightly on his feet. The military officer who had exited the truck paused for a split second, but when Lu Hao approached, the man masked his astonishment and walked forward with a neutral expression.

The two men shook hands cordially, the officer nodding respectfully at Lu Hao. "Greetings, Mr Lu."

"Good to see you, Officer Tang."

After separating, Lu Hao smiled sharply at the officer and directed his gaze to the convoy. The military man stood stock-still, as if not daring to turn away.

"This is more than I was expecting," Lu Hao said, and though he had a smile on his face, the officer felt a cold breeze pass through him.

The officer cleared his throat and reached for the bag slung across his shoulder. He pulled a dossier from it, which he held out to Lu Hao. Lu Hao's gaze alighted on the stack of papers, but he didn't immediately move to grab it.

"This is a list of new arrivals," the officer explained. "Resources we have provided. Most crucial is the intelligence report, which contains all we know of the most recent mutations." The officer's face twitched into a grimace, and a flicker of understanding passed through Lu Hao's eyes.