Chapter 11: Reorganizing the Game's Reality

Chapter 11: Reorganizing the Game's Reality

Aeon stood at the edge of the room, watching the survivors huddled together, their faces etched with a blend of hope and dread. To them, he was their leader, a beacon of survival in the chaos. But in reality, they were mere pieces on a board—some valuable, indispensable for his survival; others, backups, expendable when the situation turned dire.

His eyes swept across the room, calculating the worth of each person. Aria sat cleaning her weapon, her movements precise, methodical, but her eyes betrayed lingering emotions. Her interrupted confession of love still hung unspoken between them. Aeon hadn't forgotten, but he wasn't ready to deal with it. Not now. Aria was skilled with a gun, making her an asset, but the emotional entanglement made her both a liability and an advantage—one he would have to handle carefully.

Across the room, Ali and Nadia whispered to each other, their playful banter a thin veil for the fear gnawing at them. Nadia, sharp-tongued and quick-witted, always teased Aeon, mocking his leadership with a smirk. Ali, less vocal but equally quick to crack jokes, was her partner in crime. Together, they kept morale up, unaware of the deeper game Aeon was playing.

Then there was Luna, his childhood friend and the group's tutor. She sat quietly, concern etched into her features. Luna was the only one who thought she truly knew Aeon, but even she wasn't privy to the secrets he harbored—the truth about the game they were all unknowingly trapped in. Aeon had always kept her at arm's length, feeding her just enough to keep her loyal without revealing the full picture. She was valuable, her concern for him a tool, but too much honesty would risk everything.

Professor Alex and Amelia, the intellectuals of the group, sat deep in thought but were useless in practical survival situations. They were part of Aeon's "backup"—expendable if things went wrong. Aeon sensed they were hiding something, and while their secrecy piqued his curiosity, he had no intention of protecting them if it came to it.

But most importantly, there was the game.

His thoughts drifted to *Zombie Genesis*, the VR game he had created with the help of an open-source AI. He'd instructed the AI to build the scenarios based on real-world research, theories, and online information. Somehow, the AI had manifested the game's rules into reality. The accuracy of its predictions chilled him.

"How could this be?" Aeon thought, staring out of the cracked window at the desolate campus. "Did the AI tap into classified research? Or is this a wild coincidence?"

The zombie hierarchy he had meticulously crafted—*Zombie Emperor, Zombie King, Zombie Sultan, Zombie Boss, Zombie Leader*—was unfolding before his eyes. He was the only one who knew the full extent of what was happening, and that knowledge was his greatest advantage.

Then there was Layla.

Aeon's gaze shifted to her. She stood near the doorway, ever-watchful, her presence radiating lethal grace. In the game, he had designed a companion—an unstoppable heroine, ruthless to others but loyal to him. A **tsundere**, cold to everyone but warm and supportive to the player. But Layla was different. She was cold to everyone, even him. And worse, she was a regressor—someone who had relived this nightmare before, enduring it over and over again.

"Could she be the heroine I asked the AI to create?" Aeon mused. She embodied everything he had wanted in the game, yet she didn't seem to care about him at all. 

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. "It's impossible. There's no way she could be a product of the game." But the more he watched her, the more the lines between the game and reality blurred.

The group turned to him, their eyes filled with expectation. They believed in him, and saw him as someone who, like Layla, could guide them. Aeon didn't trust anyone fully, not after everything he'd seen. Trust led to betrayal, and betrayal could get him killed. But these survivors, while unaware of the bigger picture, were useful—his insurance against the chaos outside.

He cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Look, I know we're all on edge. I get it. But if we're going to survive, we need to stay focused."

Nadia was the first to respond, as always. "Focused on what? Sitting here until the zombies find us? We should be out there, hunting them down."

Ali nodded in agreement, and the others murmured approval. They were restless, eager for action but without a plan. Aeon felt a flicker of irritation. They had no idea what they were up against.

"You want to charge out there without a strategy?" Aeon replied, keeping his tone calm. "That's suicide."

"And sitting here isn't?" Nadia shot back, folding her arms across her chest.

Aeon sighed, rubbing his temples. "We need a plan. Layla—" he turned to her, "what's our best move?"

Layla's cold eyes swept over the group before finally settling on Aeon. "Information can be dangerous," she said, her voice flat. "I survived by adapting. That doesn't mean you will."

"Even so, we need to know," Aeon pressed. "What's the weakness of the stronger zombies like the strongest one on the top hierarchy leading all the zombies?"

Layla hesitated, her gaze narrowing as if Aeon's question confirmed a suspicion she'd had about him. Finally, she spoke. "The Zombie Emperor controls the others. Take him out, and the hierarchy collapses. The rest become disorganized."

Aeon nodded, already familiar with this mechanic from his game. "And where do we find the Zombie Emperor?"

"They lead the hordes. The strongest zombies are usually at the back, pushing the weaker ones forward. If we can track their movements, we'll pinpoint the Emperor."

Ali whistled, his bravado surfacing. "Take out the head, and the body crumbles. Sounds simple enough."

"It's not," Layla said, her tone icy. "The Emperor is surrounded by elites—Zombie Kings, Bosses, Leaders. Getting to him won't be easy."

Aeon knew all of this already, but hearing it aloud brought the stakes into sharper focus. If they could trap or kill the Zombie Emperor, they might stand a chance. But it would require careful planning and, more importantly, trust—something Aeon wasn't ready to give.

"Do you all understand how dangerous this is?" Aeon's voice hardened. "Don't think about taking any reckless actions. It may seem simple, but in action, it's not."

"We'll need to scout the area," Aeon continued. "Track their movements. Layla's right. We can't rush in. We need traps, weapons, and a way to isolate the boss of this area."

"why do we have to do this? what about the police or the army?" Aria said.

Aeon was about to answer but Layla cut in sharply "Forget about the modern law security, thinking that any crime that happens will be handled by the police like a dependent kid with no ability to do anything"

Aria felt embarrassed but also angry at Layla's rebuked tone of voice as if to criticise her childishness but could not reply back because she feared Layla's ruthless actions.

Aeon cut into the atmosphere and said in understanding "The army is already busy with the other zombie bosses and zombie hordes, and we must kill the boss of this area to avoid attacks from the horde of zombies against us because the boss of this area now that there are survivors here, and will try to attack this place soon so if we wait for too long then we may be surrounded and killed"

"so we don't really have a choice?" Ali asked, skepticism creeping into his voice.

"No one gets left behind," Luna said firmly. "If we do this, we do it together. We stick together, no matter what."

"let's all survive" Aeon lastly said.

The tension in the room thickened, Aeon's words sinking in. The group exchanged uneasy glances. They were scared, but they were ready—ready to follow Aeon, whether they fully trusted him or not.

Layla, still standing silently by the door, finally spoke. "Together, huh?" Her voice was steady, but there was something underneath—a hint of a challenge, or perhaps a warning.

Aeon took a deep breath, his mind already formulating the next steps. They had a plan now, a direction. But the real game was just beginning, and Aeon knew he would have to keep manipulating the pieces if he wanted to survive.

As he glanced at Layla, her sharp eyes still locked on him, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was watching him closely—waiting for him to slip, to reveal the secrets he had kept hidden.

*"But that won't happen,"* Aeon thought, a small smirk tugging at his lips. *"Not yet."*

With Layla by his side and the group behind him, Aeon was ready to test the rules of this new reality. If he played his cards right, he might just come out on top—no matter what game the AI had started.