Chapter 7: Everything for Survival (Part 1)

“Gua gua gu…” The shrill cries of beasts echoed from all directions in the quiet forest. The wind rustled through the man-high weeds. William Carter, expressionless, parted the tall grass and walked into a small clearing he had cleared not long ago, holding two wild pheasants he had killed with stones, and appeared before Lauren Harris.

Lauren Harris sat quietly in a small tent made of canvas, watching William Carter. Ever since they had broken through the zombie encirclement and arrived nearby, this man hadn’t spoken a single word. He had simply and skillfully used the canvas from the jeep and some branches to set up this makeshift tent, then turned and left, returning with two pheasants, and began plucking and skinning them. His clear thinking and methodical actions made him seem nothing like someone who had just lost his closest comrade.

The forest at night was dangerous. The beasts lurking in the darkness were no less threatening than the zombies from before. Many mutated creatures, though not as powerful as the Asuras, were still far more formidable than evolved zombies.

William Carter didn’t dare to light a fire either. The flickering flames would expose his and Lauren Harris’s location to any wild animals passing nearby. Lighting a bonfire would be even riskier, as the thick smoke rising into the air could give away their position. No one could guarantee that the Asuras hadn’t sent zombies out to search the area.

William Carter was exhausted as well. Now that the jeep’s gas tank was empty, if they were surrounded again by zombies or a large group of animals, he didn’t think he could fight his way out.

Ever since humanity fell from the top of the food chain, people had started to shrink back into the cities. Even with food shortages, it was rare for anyone to venture out alone in search of food.

The fact that William Carter was able to return safely with food finally allowed Lauren Harris to relax her tense heart and begin to study the man before her.

A wave of the bloody smell of meat drifted into Lauren Harris’s nose, interrupting her thoughts. William Carter quietly handed her a plucked, freshly gutted raw pheasant and said, “Ask whatever you want. After you’re done, answer my questions.”

Lauren Harris frowned and stared at the dead bird in her hand for a full minute, feeling a wave of nausea and revulsion. It was as if something was rising in her throat, making her want to vomit.

For anyone who had recently witnessed a massacre, seen brains and blood flying everywhere, and was still covered in bug and human blood, it would be abnormal not to react to the sight of a bloody raw chicken in their hand.

William Carter also frowned. Using a small knife he’d found in the jeep, he sliced off a piece of raw pheasant meat and shoved it into his mouth, his face contorted as he forced himself to swallow it. It was as if he was speaking to himself as much as to Lauren Harris: “Even if you want to throw up, you have to eat it! Without strength, you can’t survive, let alone kill all the zombies and get revenge.”

Lauren Harris’s stomach convulsed again. Taking a deep breath, Lauren Harris imitated William Carter, sliced off a piece of raw pheasant, and stuffed it into her mouth.

“Ugh—” As soon as Lauren Harris swallowed the raw meat, she felt as if her stomach was being stirred with a stick. She couldn’t stand the bloody taste rushing to her head and bent over to vomit on the ground beside her. She simply couldn’t imagine how William Carter managed to suppress the urge to throw up and force it down.

Lauren Harris vomited until her stomach was completely empty, not even able to bring up water. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her face pale, she asked, “Who exactly are you? How can you still do all these methodical things after watching your comrade die right in front of you?”

A cold glint flashed in William Carter’s eyes, but he continued to bite into the bloody raw pheasant and said coldly, “And what should I do? Stare blankly? Or hide in the arms of a woman disguised as a man and cry? If I did that, I’d really be abnormal! What I have to do is survive, do whatever it takes to survive! Keep my mind clear at all times, keep my body in the best condition—only then do I have the capital for revenge. As for me? I’m a special forces soldier who underwent the gene modification program.”

Lauren Harris gasped. She had been disguising herself as a man for over two years, and no one in the entire tribe had discovered it. Yet William Carter, after less than a day together, had already seen through her true gender.

Fifty years ago, women could still stand on equal footing with men. But as the human world collapsed and physical strength once again became the most important foundation, except for female espers and a few others, most women became subordinates once more. Even strong women found it hard to gain the same status as ordinary male warriors. Often, female warriors would catch the eye of powerful men and become their playthings, or in some cases, even end up as food.

“Any more questions?” William Carter picked up a bamboo tube filled with chicken blood and poured it down his throat, the bloody taste making him frown as well.