William glanced around at the crowd, all eyes fixed on him, expecting a straight answer without evasion. No one looked away.
"This quest requires manpower," he said. "The more people searching, the better our odds."
Murmurs rippled through the group. "More people, the better?"
"Yes," William continued. "The portal is hidden. It won’t appear glowing in midair, as everyone imagines. There are no markers or lights pointing us toward it."
Uncle John frowned. "Then finding it will be nearly impossible."
"Correct," William said, nodding.
"So how do we search?" Alissa cut in. "House by house? Alley by alley?"
William sighed. "Exactly that."
The murmurs slowly faded as people instinctively turned to look at the rows of houses stretching into the distance.
"Wait—the time we have is so limited. How many portals are there?" Uncle John asked, scowling.
"Is there only one on the entire planet?" Gray questioned, his face pale.
"No." William shook his head. "There is roughly one portal every ten kilometers, and each portal covers a ten-kilometer radius."
A collective sigh of relief passed through the group—until William added with a bitter smile, "Do you think you can search ten kilometers in forty minutes? Even searching a radius of a single kilometer thoroughly would take twelve to twenty hours."
The relief on several faces disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. Color drained from every face. Several people dropped to their knees.
"We’re all going to die," someone whispered.
Gray gnawed at his nails, his left hand trembling. "What’s the penalty for failing the quest?" he asked, drawing every eye toward William.
"I don’t know," William admitted, spreading his hands.
"But you knew about the portal radius," an old woman pressed.
"That was a reward for killing the very first zombie," William clarified, making it clear that he didn’t have all the answers.
He tightened his grip around his katana handle. ’In my past life, when the Ice Apocalypse hit, the portal was somewhere within a ten-kilometer radius. That much I remember. A method was eventually created to narrow down the search, but I can’t recall the details. Back then, Alissa was the one who told me where the portal was while I focused on saving people.’
He paused. ’Would it be in the same place this time? No. Portal placement is random. Even the apocalypse’s theme has changed, so there’s no guarantee.’ His thumb pressed against the katana’s grip.
He turned toward Alissa. "Check Carter’s store. It’s two kilometers away."
"Why there?" she asked, stepping closer and lowering her voice. "Do you actually know where it is?"
"No," William admitted. "It’s just a feeling. It’s worth checking."
Alissa nodded and took off running. Within seconds, she disappeared around the corner.
"I’ll help too!" Gray called, chasing after her.
"Wait—you told her the location and not us?" a middle-aged man shouted from the back, anger rising in his voice.
Others echoed the accusation, their eyes flushing crimson.
"You want us all to die?" a young man snapped, jabbing a finger at William.
William rubbed his nose. "I didn’t confirm the location. I only said there’s a chance it could be there. Anyone is welcome to check."
The shouting died away. The accusations stopped as suddenly as they had begun.
"Where is it, then?" the young man demanded. He muttered under his breath, "I can’t trust anyone in this apocalypse."
"Carter’s store, two kilometers away," William said. Then he raised a hand. "But only five people should go at once. If everyone crowds one location, we won’t be able to cover the rest of the search area."
No one else stepped forward. The same young man, Sam, finally took off running.
"If you find it," William called after him, "tell Alissa. She’ll relay the information back to us."
Sam nodded and vanished down the street.
"We need to organize our manpower properly to save time," Uncle John said, counting everyone.
"Agreed." William nodded. "There are about sixty people on this street."
He glanced toward the houses, where children remained hidden, their parents unwilling to bring them outside.
"We should let the children search too," Uncle John suggested, looking toward the faces peeking through the gaps in the fences.
"No!" the group answered together.
"I won’t risk my son dying to a zombie."
"Not my daughter either."
The rejection was immediate and unanimous.
William clicked his tongue. Their available manpower had instantly shrunk to around fifty-one people. He didn’t argue. Untrained children and civilians alike would be easy prey for zombies, but children go down even faster.
Many children had already entered the Safe Zone, but a few parents had refused to let their children leave. Nine children remained behind in William’s street, the youngest barely ten and the oldest around twelve.
Uncle John’s eyes lit up. "Here’s an idea. William clears the zombies first, I’ll support him from behind, and everyone else searches the houses after him. Once the streets are safe, even the children can help."
The parents glanced toward their children, who had already darted back inside under stern looks.
"That could work." People exchanged uneasy glances before slowly nodding. They were unwilling to refuse when their survival depended entirely on William risking his life to find the portal.
"Are you certain?" William asked again, unwilling to let them decide in haste.
"We agree." They all nodded, "Once the zombies are cleared, it should be safe enough."
"Fine." William grinned. "I’ll clear every zombie on these streets and in the houses."
He glanced toward the neighboring block. "We’ll bring people from the neighboring streets too. We need every pair of hands."
"But isn’t it unfair to expect you to fight alone?" an elderly woman asked from the back—the one who was pushed away by Tim.
"Grandma Jenny." William smiled. "It’s fine. This way, everyone stays alive."
Grandma Jenny raised her hammer sharply.
"All of you are relying on this boy alone? Shameless." Her tone turned icy. "That lass, Alissa, would’ve kicked every one of your asses."
Everyone lowered their heads in shame. No one met her eyes.
"Even now, you’re pushing this child to fight your battles? He’s just a boy, for God’s sake." She stepped forward. "I’ll fight for my own life. The rest of you are only burdening him."
"It’s not like that, Grandma," William said with a bitter smile.
"Enough," she snapped, raising a hand. "Don’t think, I can’t see what’s happening. My eyesight may be failing, but I’ve lived long enough to recognize this."
No one argued.
"I’m taking this boy with me. He clears the streets, and the rest of you search the houses. If you meet a zombie inside, deal with it yourselves."
She seized William’s hand and pulled him along. William let out a quiet sigh but didn’t resist.
Under her stern glare, he could only follow in silence.
Everyone turned toward Uncle John, who spread his arms. "You heard Grandma. Go—clear the houses and search."
As they reached the end of the street, William called back, "None of you found a portal in your own homes, right?"
"Correct! We already checked," someone replied.
"No portal." Everyone had the same reply, and they had swiftly brought their children along to help search after being told to do so themselves.
Grandma Jenny sighed, "Only when pushed do people finally try." She tugged William forward. "Come on, boy. Just handle the zombies outside."
They entered the next street.
William scrutinized the surroundings. It had a similar layout, with trees lining both sides and two-story homes separated by narrow gaps. A group of roughly forty people stood ready in the center, weapons raised, though none were dressed as thoroughly as the people from William’s street.
Several of them tightened their grip when William approached.
’This street seems to have sturdier people,’ he mused, noting their readiness despite their lack of proper protective gear.
"There are about forty of you here," he said, stepping forward. ’The rest must already be searching.’
"Stop! What are you doing?" they demanded, raising their weapons warily.
William explained calmly, "We’re searching for the portal. It could be anywhere."
After a brief discussion, most agreed to join them, shamed into action by the sight of Grandma Jenny fighting for her own survival despite her age. One man quietly lowered the kitchen knife he’d been pointing at William.
A few held back, but William didn’t waste time convincing them.
’I’ll come back for them once we find the portal,’ he decided.
They came to an agreement that William would clear the streets, while they searched the buildings and dealt with the zombies inside themselves, tagging along with William’s street members.
The street itself was clear of zombies, so the group began searching the houses one by one. William moved on to another street, as he was responsible only for clearing the zombies.
After some time, William finally encountered a street crawling with them, "First street with zombies."
"Grr!" They roared, and stambling towards him, with their cloudy eyes locked on him.
He dashed in.
Whoosh!
He beheaded one with a clean swing and glanced towards the end of the street, roughly twenty more zombies wandered in between.
"One down," he muttered.
The zombies moved slowly, allowing William to approach two of them standing close together. He beheaded them both in one swing.
[ Ding! You have acquired one Apocalypse Supply Coin! ]
[ Ding! You have acquired one Apocalypse Supply Coin! ]
He didn’t even glance at the notification before moving again. One strike, one down. He aimed for their necks, allowing him to take them down swiftly before they could surround him.
He was so fast in swinging his katana that they were falling to the ground before they could touch him.
A few moments later.
[ Total Apocalypse Supply Coins {₳}: 31 ]
"Uncle John, I’ve cleared the street," he informed John, who had wanted to lend a hand, but couldn’t keep up with William’s efficiency in killing zombies. "There should be more zombies inside the houses, unlike on the other street."
John nodded solemnly. "I’ll tell them to take the precaution and be ready to fight."
William wanted to clear the houses as well. He took one step toward the nearest doorway, but Grandma Jenny held him back.
"Let them face the zombies themselves," she said. "They need the experience."
William looked toward the nearest house before giving a reluctant nod. The sounds of zombies’ roars echoed from dwellings.
"Let’s move to the next street. They’ll catch up."
Just as he crossed into the next block, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.
’Wait.’
His eyes widened.
’What was it? In my past life, people eventually discovered a far more efficient way to locate portals... but it happened too late, after this very quest had already long ended.’
"What was it?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair. His footsteps slowed until Grandma Jenny had already walked several meters ahead.