Chapter 8: Research
1154 Words
"What..."
When Mily followed Luke back, what she saw made her jaw drop to the ground.
There was...dozens of zombies...tied with a collar and chains which are held by a...female zombie?
What's more, there seem to be people attached to the zombie's backs too...
Just...just what on earth is going on here!?
Mily, who had survived the apocalypse for over a year, has never seen such an odd sight before her...well, until now.
"L-Luke...this...this..."
Mily was unable to find the words to say as she pointed at the zombies dumbfoundedly.
"Don't mind them. Just follow."
"R-right..."
Mily stared at the zombies cautiously before hurrying to follow Luke.
She stuck close to him as she was afraid of what the zombies might do to her if she lagged behind.
"Lucy, follow."
"H-huh? What do you mea-"
"Uuu..."
"..."
At first, Mily was confused with what Luke said as she thought that he was talking to her.
However, the female zombie holding the chains at the back suddenly groaned as if to answer. She then moved along and followed behind them.
Mily's jaw dropped to the ground again.
Luke didn't pay attention to her and just walked back to his underground shelter.
Any zombies that approached them were shot by Luke in the head.
Soon, they neared the entrance to the underground shelter.
"Hm, so we didn't encounter a mutated zombie this time again...pity."
Luke shook his head as he muttered and headed inside.
Beside him, Mily broke into a cold sweat.
What do you mean pity!? You should be thankful instead!
Mily retorted in her mind as she followed Luke inside.
They went down on a large elevator that fit them and the zombies.
It was weird taking an elevator together with zombies though...
However, Mily seemed impressed at how well maintained the place was.
"Um, how many are you in this shelter?"
"Just me."
"Huh? Just you?"
"That's what I said."
Luke didn't explain further and just waited for the elevator doors to open.
He then led Mily to where she can stay and gave her an overview of the place.
To summarize, other than her room, the cafeteria, and lounge, she's not allowed to go anywhere else.
Since the other areas require an ID to pass through, and since Luke is the only one who has access, Mily wouldn't be able to sneak in even if she wanted to.
Mily asked out of curiosity.
"What's in those areas?"
"My lab. It's where I research and experiment on the zombies."
"You mean...the reason why that zombie listens to you so well...is because of your research!?"
Mily was shocked.
This was such a groundbreaking discovery!
Luke nodded.
"That's right. I'm trying to find a way to return the zombie's memories if possible. For now, Lucy here has only successfully retained a sense of intelligence, but it's not enough."
"What do you mean!? This is amazing! This...if everyone knew of your work here, they will have hope again!"
Mily shouted enthusiastically.
She was no longer afraid of Lucy as before. Instead, she was curious and excited.
What could Luke's research mean? It meant that there might be a way to bring back the ones who turned!
Such news can be seen as a piercing ray of light in the middle of the darkness!
It's the light of hope that this apocalypse...might just be defeated! Humans can still exist!
However small that hope maybe now...it will only grow and burn hotter in the heart of Mily.
This was a chance...a chance for humanity's survival!
"W-what can I do to help!?"
Luke looked at her excited expression calmly and answered.
"I often get drowned in work without me noticing it. And most of the time, I couldn't be bothered to cook food for myself. Your task is to cook and clean the place. Of course, except for the restricted areas."
"Understood! I'll do my best! I won't get in your way!"
"Good."
Luke nodded.
Suddenly, Mily remembered something.
"Oh yeah, what about those guys attached on the back of the zombies? What's up with them?"
"It's a survivor group I encountered outside."
Luke gave her a basic overview of the situation with the survivor group depending on what he knows.
As expected, Mily was angry at the scum for behaving as they did.
She sighed in her heart and lamented at how humans had really changed in desperate times.
Luke scoffed.
"Humans had never changed. They just started to show it since there was no more law to keep them."
"...But there are still good on people."
"Maybe. But these guys are definitely not. They will be used for some experiments that require a living person. I've been using myself in the past few months but since they're here, might as well have them contribute."
Hearing that, Mily's face paled.
"Y-you've been conducting experiments on yourself!? Isn't that dangerous!?"
Luke sighed and shook his head.
"You sound just like Athena."
"Who's Athena?"
"I am. And yes, sir. Since you don't take care of yourself, I must do it for you."
Mily was shocked to hear a voice from the speakers in the room.
"W-was there someone else here?"
"Yes and No, Ms. Mily. I am Athena, an Artificial Intelligence developed by Sir Luke."
"A-artificial intelligence!?"
Mily's face paled again.
She ran towards Luke's side and whispered in a low voice.
"She's not...gonna attack us, right?"
"I can hear you. Also, I won't attack you unless you mean to cause harm to Sir Luke."
"G-got it."
Mily nodded repeatedly, clearly afraid of Athena.
Luke ignored the skit between the two and commanded Lucy to deliver the zombies to the storage room where he then contained and shackled each of them.
As for the humans, they were transferred to a separate room.
They were also cuffed to prevent anyone from escaping.
"Um...will you also...experiment on those girls?"
"Yes."
"But..."
Mily hesitated.
While the men were scum, she still pitied the women who had been taken advantage of.
"Do you want me to let them go? Then what? I have no use for them. They will have to fend for themselves outside for all I care. Do you want me to kill them? That's also fine. They will be granted a swift and painless death and I can continue to experiment on their dead bodies. What is it going to be?"
"..."
"There's no need to pity them. They had chosen to be treated as such to remain alive. They are useless."
"...I understand."
"Good."
Mily nodded and looked moved, seemingly understanding something.
"We need to filter the people right? If there's going to be hope for humanity's survival, it's best to filter the good from the bad while we can so that the bad ones won't survive at the end!"
"???"
For the first time, Luke was speechless.
What is this woman saying? I just needed them for my experiments...
- Writer
