Chapter 3：The dead rises

Daniel woke up suddenly as sweat pervaded his body, he got up from the bed and looked at the clock he didn't even sleep for one hour he sat cross-legged on the bed and waited since there was nothing else for him to do he decided to try some of the training techniques he knew.

Push-ups sit-ups, crunches, he tried all of them but he felt they didn't impend him at all his muscles were already at the peak of humanity with the Z Gene activated the only way to become stronger would be to stimulate the gene somehow but he had no knowledge on how to do so. He could feel the gene that strengthened his body to his current state activated inside his body but he couldn't touch it nor influence it.

A young woman came inside with a tray of food, there wasn't much at all considering the situation of the village, Daniel immediately got up and shook his head saying:

"There's no need for the food, the chief told me about your situation, I can't impose on you, I can go outside the village to get something else to eat."

The woman nodded at him then gratefulness appeared in her eyes, all the food that wasn't consumed by an outsider would be a great boon for another of the family's of the village.

Daniel informed her to tell the chief that he would go outside the village for a bit to hunt some of the mutated animals, the woman complied with his words and left with the tray of food, afterward he left the village behind as he ran at fast speeds in the wasteland, even though normal animals were long gone mutated animals still remained in moderate amounts, with the mutation they suffered they became stronger and faster while their appearance changed drastically. Their meat was also irradiated and not good for consumption but Daniel having the Z Gene meant he could eat the meat with no problem.

After he found some scorpions and snakes that he ate to sate his stomach for quite a long time he decided to come back to the village.

In the bunker, the man known as Baidoa chuckled as he watched Daniel's actions then he took a communication device from the table he was residing at and started to speak into it:

"Master Litoa I have a request for you, do you know of project one ninety-five? I want you to release it on the surface world immediately to spice things up for our two cute project Z guinea pigs."

On the other end of the communication device, Litoa was sweating intensely he didn't want to comply with the orders project one ninety-five would destroy the surface as everyone knew it, it was already very hard for the common man to live outside combined with the newly released Z Gene users the surface would become a pandemonium.

But unfortunately, Litoa couldn't do anything as the big boss himself told him what to do, he couldn't refuse any orders from the top brass or else he would be killed or worse thrown outside the bunker!

He became dependent on the life inside the bunker after he finished his experiments he would always have tons of women to service him, the best food one could get, he was practically living like a king whenever he was off duty.

Clenching his remaining teeth Litoa pressed a red button with a decaying hand depicted on it, on the surface in different villages and sanctuaries all over the world a red gas started to appear, it firstly infiltrated the living but no changes could be seen on them, they all just lived their lives like normal not finding the red gas strange at all. After all, they gone through some red gas wasn't going to create a huge pandemonium on the surface.

But what happened next broke the literal camelback as all over the world in the cemeteries near the villages or towns, hands started to move in coffins, skeletons grew flesh back on their bodies as they started to bang heavily on their coffins.

The decaying flesh of the corpses remained the same but a glint of intelligence could be seen in their eyes, they weren't normal zombies that was one thing for sure!

Baidoa started to chuckle ominously as he watched all the changes happening in the world then he said:

"Ropego do you see this? do you see how much fun we will have in the future?" Ropego the white cat yawned it's cute cat face and started to lick itself then said in a sleepy tone of voice:

"You awoke me for this? isn't this just phase two of the plan? What are you ready to let me go out, you know I'm bored staying here with you, let me follow that Daniel lad already."

"You could go after him, of course, the village he currently resides in is almost doomed, as you know these aren't any normal zombies."

The cat nodded it's small white head then continued:

"So am I out of this damn prison or what?" Baidoa pointed at a small trap door that was behind him and said:

"Be my guest little furry thing." The cat then jumped off his lap and disappeared in the hole in the wall at extremely high speeds!

Baidoa chuckled to himself as the monitor changed from the images of the zombies emerging to Daniel going back to the village.

Daniel patted his belly as he quickly made his way back to the village but he wasn't met with the villagers, instead, he was met with a horde of zombies feasting on the flesh of the living!

As the zombies ate the flesh their decaying skin turned to normal and the intelligent glow in their eyes intensified, after all the living people were eaten they actually started to eat each other!

Daniel's eyes turned crimson as his muscles started to enlarge themselves and he threw himself at the horde of zombies directly! There were still some remaining people alive in the village hidden as he didn't saw the corpse of the chief of the village nor the young woman who got him food.

The zombies bit at him only for their teeth to break on his rock hard skin they tried to claw at him with their hands but they weren't strong enough to do anything to him!

But out of the horde, a normal-looking man bar the half missing face came out and clashed with Daniel, the man was pushed back as he ate some pieces of his comrades along the way, the remaining half that was missing from his face was growing at an alarming speed!

The man chuckled then said:

"Ah, it's so good to be back alive, I'm not sure how this happened but I'm grateful towards whoever did this!"

Daniel's eyes started to return to normal as he heard the man talk but he still continued to bash all the other zombie's brains in trying to exterminate all of them.

The man chuckled as he threw himself at Daniel again trying to have a contest of strength again, Daniel still pushed him back but now he skidded back to a lesser degree than before!

The man started to hide in the horde of zombies and ate at leisure while Daniel tried to find him, after a few minutes the horde started to thin and he could see the man again but he wasn't normal looking anymore.

His skin turned green and his heigh increased from a normal one meter and seventy centimeters to a whooping two meters and fifty centimeters. The man roared as a crazed glint replaced his intelligent one in his eyes. He couldn't control himself anymore!

He gulped up the remaining zombies but Daniel approached him at high speeds trying to decapitate him with his fist!

The now giant man grabbed Daniel by one leg when Daniel threw himself at him then started to bash him up against the ground!

Daniel coughed up black blood from his mouth then he used his hand to actually overpower the giant and unclench the giant's hand from his leg!

Daniel roared as his muscles inflated again and his height increased from his one meter and seventy-nine centimeters to a whooping two meters.

His veins started to bulge around his body as an exoskeleton looking armor enveloped him, This was the Z Gene's potential when an opponent with higher strength would challenge its user!

Daniel roared like a beast as all his rationality was taken away from him in this mode and only instinct remained.

All of the bodies of the zombies and dead humans were eaten by the giant guy as he grew to a height of three meters.

Both of them crashed against each other as their fists collided with one another a shock wave immediately appeared that destroyed the houses that surrounded them. Out of one house, the chief and a few other survivors scampered to run away from the fight, tears in their eyes could be seen, the emotion they could only feel right now would be fear! true fear!

Daniel ignored them as he continued to clash against the giant monstrosity, but the monstrosity started to smell something with its nose as his eyes started to shine as he saw the survivors scamper away like rats.

Even though he was big that didn't mean he was slow, he ran after them extremely quickly almost appearing instantly behind them but Daniel didn't let him eat them even though he didn't have his rationality anymore!

He threw himself at him at extremely high speeds as the ground behind him cracked then exploded upwards, his raw speed and strength multiplied instantly and his punch was aimed directly at the giant's heart!

His punch was like an extremely sharp blade that pierced directly through the giants back reaching his heart in the most direct manner. He quickly grabbed a hold of it then started dragging it out his giant chest.

The giant started to growl and he wanted to throw him away from his back but he already grabbed his heart!

Daniel with a forcefull thug took away the giant zombie's heart and roared in victory!

The zombie's life signals started to fade as his shining eyes started to close and lose their glitter, an unconscious action made by instinct was made by Daniel then, he grabbed the heart then took a bite out of it his Z Gene immediately started working with the giant zombie blood increasing his strength by one percent two percent.... five percent!

Little tendrils started to grow out of Daniel's body which inserted themselves in the body of the giant and drained him of all of his blood.

Daniel's body was spasming as his strength increased by ten percent more! He suddenly blacked out as the saved people got up from the ground looking at him with fear and wonder. Actually they were so traumatized that they decided to leave him there and run away!

There was a puddle of yellow color where they previously were, woke up by the acrid stench Daniel got up from the ground and gripped his head.

The pain in his head increased by a lot then it subsided suddenly when he looked around he saw all the destruction that happened and he wasn't sure what to say.

He didn't remember much after he used his berserk mode so all he could do was investigate slowly, he became extremely sad as he realized no living human was left in the village. The only thing remaining was a few unbroken houses and the husk of the giant which was devoid of blood.

Daniel decided to stay in one of the houses and rest before continuing his journey across the wasteland.

Out of seemingly nowhere a hole appeared near the village from it hopped a little cute white cat.

In the bunker, Baidoa was chuckling and looking at the monitors while saying:

"All according to plan, Costil is growing nicely as well. These dumb rich people who are observing do not know of the true purpose of these experiments thinking it's just for their amusement but in the future, they will be held in the lion's den, let's see how fun that will be."

He started laughing intensely afterward as he observed the monitor, the cat was approaching the house which Daniel resided in while he rested.

Things would only get better from now on.