After creating an equipment all night, Ziv finishes all the items they needed before the dawn came.
[Leather Vest: A leather vest that was intended to put a metal plate inside the vest to reduce the damage taken.
With Metal Plates: Stamina +2 Dexterity -2]
[Hidden Blade: A leather Armguard with a concealed blade on the forearm part that was lethal for enemies.
Strength +3]
[Serrated Blade: A small dagger that was meticulously sharpened to become lethal and deadly to enemies.
Strength +3 Dexterity +1]
"Ha.. After 9 Hours of non-stop working I finally finished it." Ziv sighed in exhaustion as he just sprawled on the ground to alleviate his weariness.
"You really finished it before dawn. Good job mate!"
Reynold praised him as he inspects the items he made, there are 2 Leather Vest, 1 Armguard with Hidden Blade and 1 Serrated Blade.
"Oh.. These were yours." Ziv gives him a Leather Vest and Serrated Blade.
"It's so well made considering the cheap material that you used to make this stuff. How do you use this Vest?" Reynold asked him as he curiously inspects the items he received.
"You see the zipper in front? Open that, then you will put a metal plate inside the zipper. It works like a bullet proof vest." Ziv instructed him when he couldn't figure it out.
"Interesting.. Is this effective on bullets though?" Reynold asked while curiously inspect every detail of the vest.
"At least put 2 Metal Plates inside and if it couldn't resist the bullet used your body instead." Ziv lazily remarked before going to bed.
"What!? How stupid is that designed?" Reynold cursed.
"Do whatever you want then." Ziv mumbled at his bed sheet while falling asleep because of exhaustion.
*snore*
"After not lasting for long labor you still have the audacity to suggest training, huh!?" Reynold spat an insult as he saw him going to sleep before he went outside to do something else.
...
After sleeping for an ample amount of time, he woke up from his slumber as he sat on his bed dazed while looking around the room.
When he didn't see Reynold around, he decided to take a shower first before finding him.
After going out of the shower, he equips his leather vest while putting the hidden blade to his forearm before wearing a plain black t shirt.
"Where could he possibly be?" Ziv thinks of some possibilities when he heard the click of the door.
When he was about to go outside and find him, he saw Reynold with 'Veronica' on his shoulder entering the room.
"Oh.. You woke up already, you slept for 8 hours. You sleep like a log." Reynold insulted him.
"Yeah, really!? At least I'm not f*king my own gun when I was in the bathroom." Ziv also mocked him back.
"Kah! You little son of a b*tch!" Reynold mutters.
"Hey, Ziv! You said you need to learn CQC after doing your stuff, let's go now." Reynold said while forcing a smile.
"I know you have evil plans seeing you smile like that, but I can't reject your offer now." Ziv reluctantly agrees as he saw him mentioning about training.
"Good!" Reynold said while giggling.
They went downstairs to find some abandoned warehouse with no people around the area.
"Listen! If you want to win a fight you need to be fast, decisive and if possible do an action that surprise your opponent. Don't get dragged around by them and always be in advantage even in offensive or defensive stance."
"Position yourself into somewhere you can easily attack, defend and escape. Be shameless and hit their weak spot which is genitals as much as possible, that's it." Reynold fully explained him while abusi- 'training' him.
After venting his resentment for his insult earlier, Reynold teaches him as much technique as possible to let him be prepared.
"Wow. You have learned how to handle a gun properly, knife fighting stance, taking advantage of your enemies.." Reynold satisfied nod his head as he saw him aching with pain while learned a lot of things.
"Is that even necessary to break my arm for several times!? Ah sh*t!" Ziv cursed while realigning his arm.
"Anyways, just remember all the things I-"
While Reynold was about to lecture again, they heard a loud resounding alarm that could be heard in the whole Black Market.
*Weeeng* *Weeeng*
"They are here!" Ziv exclaimed as they rush towards the gambling den.
They pass by several people that were casually walking and talking towards the entrance of the Black Market without any care about the zombie horde that was attacking.
"Ha-ha! You know Uncle Sam from downtown! He.."
"I'll go to the motel for a bit! Stacey is waiting for me!"
"There is a zombie horde outside? Oh.. Scary! Ha-ha!"
They saw them laughing and not taking seriously the zombies outside as if they are confident that they couldn't harm them and emerge victorious.
"Why are they acting like this?" Reynold asks in confusion when he saw them act like this.
"The apocalypse just begin a few days or a week ago. People couldn't still adapt to the situation that they currently in."
"They didn't experience enough about the 'New World' and notice the change of our world, the zombies are evolving quickly and the civilization before is constantly falling now. We couldn't blame ignorant people."
"Sometimes I even feel that everything happening right now is just a dream that my mind created." Ziv explained to him while observing them.
"Oh is that so. But, why can we accept the situation and adapt?" Reynold asked.
"We are just unique than a normal human." Ziv plainly said.
"That's true! We are both unique, but I don't know what is your unique trait, though?" Reynold curiously asked.
"Me? I don't know.. I.. I.. Don't know. Ack!" Ziv keeps repeating his word as he stares blankly before his head suddenly hurts.
"Hey! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Reynold asked, worried as he supports him when he reached out his head.
"Yeah! Just the training is just too intense, that's all." Ziv replied with a laugh to ease his worries.
"He-he! We better keep going the group should be waiting." Reynold bitterly replied as he know that it's his fauly at the first place.
"Don't intensify the training next time!"
...
When they arrived at the entrance of gambling den they saw Malek shouting and instructing people, different from his usual 'transcended' form while busily running around to prepare for the fight.
"You better move all my collections on the storage. Also, the sentries should be in their position and the explosion- Ah! What the f*ck are you doing!? Move your a*s help him!"
All of Malek's subordinate is hurriedly doing all of their tasks while the group of User was leisurely sitting on the crates to wait for him to discuss their plan.
When they approached the group, they introduced themselves to each other to avoid awkwardness when they enter the fight later.
Feng Shuo is a middle aged man with long red robe and a long white beard that reach his abdomen.
Eve is a young girl with a metal baseball bat while her face was full of make up and her outfit is so revealing that it only hides her chest and her private part.
Hanzai is the guy with black armor and a sword on his back that they argue at the meeting room before.
"I'm Ziv and this is Reynold. Nice to meet you." Ziv casually introduced themselves while they acknowledge each other with a nod, then kept their silence while waiting for Malek.
After 10 minutes of waiting, Malek finally approached them.
"So, everyone is here. We have 6 people in total and I will divide each of us with two people per group while each group will defend a spot to stop the zombies from breaching our defense."
"Also, be careful of Black Hawk or Terrence Group they will surely attack us to get your Energy Core. Be sure to call for reinforcement for that. That's all." Malek explained their plan before assigning them to their designated spot.
The pair was; Malek and Feng in the middle, Eve and Hanzai in the left side while Ziv and Reynold in the right side.
After leaving there they quickly went towards the entrance to the Black Market and stay there with 3,000 people that will participate in this battle.
The people there equip themselves with their weapons, some were high power guns, pistols, while there are occasional melee weapons that they can spot, but the common thing about this people was they are smiling and excited.
"How many Crystal, can I get today?"
"I need to buy something later, better grind here."
Looking at them acting excited, both Ziv and Reynold just shook their head in disapproval of their actions.
"The moment the defense got breached. They will be f*cked for sure, even If we have enough numbers and firepower. If they send a Tier 2 Zombie we are all dead for sure." Reynold commented.
"I didn't see a Tier 2 yet, but from your tone that zombie was strong." Ziv said.
"Of course, they are so OP. Their claws can easily tear apart a tank and their speed is much faster than a car." Reynold added.
"That's kinda OP indeed." Ziv exclaimed in shocked when hearing that.
While they were talking the scout that observing the huge black mass in one of the buildings immediately pull the alarm to inform the people on the ground that the zombies are in sight.
*Whiiiingg*
"The zombies are near from us!"
"Ha-ha! Let's party! Woohoo!"
Ziv looked at the bright moon in the sky while its moonlight shone upon his face.
"Ha.. The moon has ascended the dark sky while the blood shall spill the grounds;
While the mourning souls shall receive an endless anguish from their demise." Ziv sighed melancholy as he recited a poem.
"You have the time to recite a poem while there was a fight. I can't believe it!" Reynold exclaimed in shocked as he heard him recite a poem.
When the zombies are approaching the Black Market, they saw a trailer in the front of the horde that carrying a dozen of Energy Crystal on the back suddenly stopped before the zombies pounce on the trailer.
After the Tier 0 and Tier 1 Zombies gathered around the trailer and ate the Crystals inside, there is a sudden change in their body as they quickly evolve at a rapid rate.
There is suddenly an addition of 1 Tier 2 Zombie and 10 Tier 1 Zombie, when the people saw that they were shocked and stupefied especially the aura that a Tier 2 Zombie emits.
"Oh god! We're f*ck!" Malek exclaimed as he saw this scene.
After eating their fill the zombies immediately notices their presence by Energy fluctuations, especially there is a huge group of people gathering in one area.
"N-No way! What is that!?"
That person pointed with shocked at the tall Tier 2 Zombie and a hunched back Tier 2 Zombie with a huge claw on both its hand.
[Tier 2 Zombie (Intelligent Type)]
[A mutation from the branch of the Zombie tree line with exceptional intellectual capabilities that can lead a zombie horde, learn to use Energy and speak.]
[Tier 2 Zombie (Strength Type)]
[A normal evolution path from the branch of the Zombie tree line with strong fighting capabilities that specializes in power, speed and defense.]
The Intelligent Type Zombie utters a deafening roar while pointing at the Black Market.
The zombies start to wildly pouring in into the Black Market with the Tier 0 as a cannon fodder, Tier 1 on the middle and Tier 2 on the back commanding the horde.
The 3,000 or so people got overwhelmed by the sight of 50,000 zombies rushing in as they lose composure and just shooting blindly without aiming at their weak spot.
"F-Fire this piece of sh*ts!"
"Ahh-! Die!"
"Shoot it in the head! Head!"
*Brrrtt* *Bang*
Their laid back atmosphere from before disappear and instead replace with tense and panic atmosphere, especially when they saw the zombies getting near to the entrance of the Black Market.
Within an hour casualties are starting to appear while it slowly increases by the time the fight is getting longer.
"Sh*t the minigun is overheating!"
When the battle intensifies the high powered guns that keep firing non stop especially the sentries that equipped with a mini gun started to overheat.
While firing non stop gives them the advantage to stall and stop the horde of zombie from advancing into the Black Market it still has limitations of its own.
The casualties from the human side is increasing from 100 at the beginning in 600 when the guns started to overheat and need a cool down.
"2 hours had passed and we only kill at least what? 20,000 of these f*ckers!" Reynold cursed as he decapitate the head of a zombie.
"Ha.. Yeah! They only deploy Tier 0 and Tier 1 zombies to exhaust our stamina and means to deal with them. While that big turd is still looking at us in the back!" Ziv gasps said while pointing at the tall Tier 2 Zombie.
"Oh shit! Speak of the devil! Look the claw Zombie is going to move." Reynold exclaimed as he saw one of the Tier 2 Zombie suddenly started to move.
"So, now they can't afford to lose any more of their troops!" Ziv helplessly said.
The Tier 2 Zombie started to run slowly until it's getting faster and faster while approaching quickly at the sentries and barricades, the people that were assigned at the sentries couldn't react faster when it appears in their front.
It smashes its huge claws towards the barricade all the way to the sentry piercing it like butter until it destroys the mini gun and killed the man operating it.
*Roaar!*
The Tier 2 Zombie starts to massacre every human being at its sight while the casualties spiked and continuously increasing when it display its strength.
"Gather now! We need to stop it!" Malek shouted as he saw the Tier 2 going on a rampage killing people around.