An agent in the apocalypse [Project Zomboid] [Waifu Catalog]

[kira-sakuya]

Starting World: Project Zomboid
Starting budget 140

Intensity [1]
So Far Away 0
Dropped-In -0 [140]

Bindings
Company Stamp free [140]
Empty Hand --20 [160]

Lures
Sticky Fingers -5 [155]
Faerie Feast -10 [145]
Alluring Whisper -20 [125]

Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [120]

Talents
Body Tune-Up -5 [115]
Wild -5 [110]
Everlasting -10 [100]
Athletic -5 [95]
Martial -10 [85]
Communication -10 [75]
Educationalᵈˡᶜ -5 [70]
Soul -10 [60]

Defenses
Body x2 -10 [50]
Stress x2 -10 [40]
Wild -5 [35]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +2 [37]

Misc Perks
Sexual Calibration -2 [35]
Fertility Calibration I -2 [33]
Appearance Changeᵈˡᶜ -1 [32]
Time-Saversᵈˡᶜ -2 [30]
Exit Stage Left -5 [25]

Generic Waifu Perks
Paper Trail [You, Izumi Curtis, Chao Lingshen] -3 [22]
Grail Knowledgeᵈˡᶜ [You, Izumi Curtis, Chao Lingshen] -3 [19]

Companions bought -15 [4]
Izumi Curtis(T4)[used] from Fullmetal Alchemist
Chao Lingshen(T5)[used] from Negima!

Specific credit modifiers -4 [0]:
Gain combat training [-2]
Gain survival training [-1]
Gain leadership training [-1]

 

[kira-sakuya]

As I opened my eyes, I paled. I was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by around fifteen "people."

Spotting my companions nearby, I shouted, "Be ready for combat! Everything around us is hostile!"

"Chao, disable anything approaching us."

Chao's spear immediately came into play. Not knowing what these people were yet, she reversed her grip, using the shaft and butt of the weapon to knock them away rather than stab them.

"Izumi, find us shelter." Izumi had already punched a zomboid by the time my words came, she cringed at the blood and bone fragment on her hand, before looking around.

While I was giving orders, a zomboid near me lunged at me.

The pale and bloody face, a mouth wide open in a snarl appeared in front of me, making me fall.

Before I could be bitten a spear knock it away. I quickly got up and rushed behind Izumi.

Damn there was so many of them, in the game we appeared in a house not outside.

As I was thinking another zomboid launched itself at me from the side.

Falling from the shock placed me outside of the zomboid range.

A thump from Chao's spear impacting the side of the zomboid's head made it fall on me. In fear I pushed it aside, got up and rushed away.

'Oh my god the smell.'

Preventing myself from vomiting I forced myself to turn my sight to Izumi's back and concentrate on it so as to not be distracted once again.

After what felt like half an hour—but couldn't have been more than a few minutes—Izumi suddenly turned into a narrow alley.

"Up!"

A metal fire-escape ladder hung several metres above us. Izumi jumped, caught the bottom rung and pulled herself up with ridiculous ease.

A moment later, she leaned down and extended a hand.

I grabbed it.

She practically hauled me off my feet.

Once I regained my breath I turned to see the situation.

I found that we had left the Zomboids far behind. Sighing in relief I entered the windows Izumi had just opened, Chao who had already joined us following me closely.

The room seemingly safe I turned toward my two companions. It was strange to see Izumi Curtis so young, in her story she was considered between thirty and forty, and there she stood at twenty five, watching me with a wary look in her eye. Chao who was looking around us curiously until now also turned toward me.

Feeling slightly awkward, I cleared my throat. "We don't have time to do introduction right now, we still are in danger."

At my word Izumi who had been observing me turn back to the room her hand on her knife. When did she find it ?

"Here's what you need to know. Those things outside are zombies. They're hostile, they seem to rely mostly on sight and hearing, and destroying the brain stops them. There aren't many unaffected people left in the area. Everything else can wait until we're somewhere safe."

"Zombies ?" Asked Izumi, the only one who didn't know the popular style of game.

It wasn't me who answered her this time. "Walking corpse, feral, no intelligence left, only a desir to eat, usually human. Tireless."

"So they're already dead ?" Asked Izumi

At our nod Izumi murmured. "Then I can kill them."

"Do you know how it spreads?"

"Yes. For now, just don't get bitten."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the answer we have time for."

After a moment, she nodded.

Thump

A soft sound as if something fell against the door stopped our conversation.

Izumi approached the door with her knife in hand, Chao staying by the windows to cover our back.

I lowered my voice. "For the time being we can't do much for the survivor, but we will come back to it later."

"Before we move, we need to know what each of us can do. I'm Kira."

The name still felt strange.

It wasn't the one I'd been born with. Becoming a Contractor had taken that from me, leaving only the pseudonym I'd used before.

"Izumi, you're our best fighter and you have real wilderness survival experience. Chao, you're also a skilled fighter, and you're our strongest option for magic and anything technological."

I hesitated.

"I'm the weak link."

"I know computers and software. I bought a few advantages from the Catalog, but they're mostly long-term. As for fighting and survival... I had one day of training in each."

Izumi slowly turned her head toward me.

"One day."

"One day."

Her expression became the exact look I remembered Edward receiving whenever he'd done something particularly stupid.

"Izumi, you are in charge until we are safe, we will follow your command."

"You're suppose to be our contractor."

"And you've survived alone in the wilderness. I've spend most of my life at home or around civilization. Until's we're somewhere safe, you're in charge."

After a few second a single "Fine" came back.

By the windows Chao who was observing me let out a soft "Interesting."

Izumi's hand went behind a furniture and brough back a broom, she tore off it's head giving me the handle. "Don't try to kill anything. Keep this between you and them. If one comes close call us we will deal with it."

"We avoid fighting unless we have to. We don't know how far we'll need to go, so don't waste energy."

Izumi then slowly opened the door, then with a quick thrust with her knife she killed the zomboid which had been standing before it. Seeing that the hallways was otherwise empty. She gestured for us to follow her.



It didn't take us long to exit the building they were in. Izumi advancing in silence, sometime opening a door just enough to look at the room before closing it once more.

Once outside she made us keep close to the wall, sometime passing beneath a window.

After a quarter of an hour they a slightly separated two story high house.

As we were kneeling behind a low wall, Izumi pointed to me.

"You stay there, keep the house behind you at all time. If any zombie managed to go past Chao you will hear it in advance. You make sure that no zombie come from where we come from. If you notice a zombie approach, you go warn Chao."

I nodded, placing myself back against the wall so as to have better view, in front of me was a long road with no way to hide, I would see any zombie coming from afar..

"Chao, you enter the house and you check every room. Once a room is checked, close the door behind you so as not to be attacked from behind."

Chao looked at the house.

"Do you want me to secure the house ?"

"Not yet, we don't have enough information."

She glanced at me as she said that.

"For the time being we just need a temporary shelter."

Still looking back, I asked.

"And you ?"

"I will go around the surrounding and kill any zombie I find."

"Chao once you have finished, you stay in the house."

She then pointed at a windows.

"Place a strip of tissue on this windows to show that everything is alright."

I turned slightly to see which windows she was speaking about.

Seeing that we understood the orders she turned.

"Let's go."

And so I was left alone with only a broom handle to defend myself. Not really a hero's beginning.

'Stop, you already knew that it would be like that.'

In fact for the moment everything was going to plan, sure I clearly wasn't prepared to face zomboid but I already knew I would have difficulty in this domain.

I grew still as I saw movement on the road far away, but after ten minutes there was no more.

Thinking about my companion it was also going as he thought.

'Izumi is clearly wary, not surprising from her past. Still she seemed ready to work with me.... for now.'

'It's harder with Chao, I can't read her. From what I know she is usually joyful, but it was also to manipulate Negima.'

Hearing movement to the left I turned broom handle raised only to see Izumi come out.

"Anything ?" She has briskly

I pointed where I saw movement earlier.

"I saw some movement at the road twenty minutes ago, but nothing since. It may have been a zomboid passing by or an animal, I couldn't see."

Frowning while looking afar, she then looked at the house.

"Stay there."

She then left me once more.

As she went to check what I saw I looked behind me, there was a piece of tissue at the window.

'Everything seem good there.'

It took ten minutes for Izumi to come back.

"Two zombies, they shouldn't have been a danger but better be careful."

She stared at me.

"At least you were smart enough not to go check.

"You did ordered me to stay there unless danger."

"And you actually listened."

I frowned.

"You're the one I put in charge."

Izumi scoffed. "A contractor which listen to his waifu. A miracle."

The word waifu came out like an insult.

She motioned for me to follow.

Chao was waiting for us at the door having observed our conversation with interest.

Izumi raised an eyebrow in question.

"Two zombie, one in the kitchen another in the bedroom..."

At this time her word stayed caught in her throat.

"The one in the bedroom was only four years old."

I paled at those words, in the game the dev didn't code any child but obviously in a real world they would have been more susceptible to the illness.

Then something came back to my mind and I turned toward Izumi.

Izumi face had gone completely blank.

Then I remembered.

'Her child.'

I tried to distract them.

"What must we do now ? I suppose that we should place defense even if the house is only temporary ?"

Chao seeing the reaction of Izumi and understanding what I was trying to do, helped me.

"If the zombie use sigh and hearing we should close every curtain. Close the doors to give us more time to run away. Unplug any device which could do loud sound. If we want to stay long term I could create some defense, not much unless I have the material but it would be better than nothing."

Our conversation bringing back Izumi to the present, she nodded.

"We won't stay long term, only a day or two. We should however close the curtain, but not upstairs."

She lead us upstairs, while staying away from the bedroom to showed us, she then shut off the lights.

"From there we can see rather far away, we must always have someone keeping watch from there. The light must always stay off here."

"So while someone keep guard here the two other stay on the first floor." I noted while opening one of the curtain which was closed.

"No ceiling lights," Chao suggested. "Close the curtains and use a small lamp away from the windows. Less chance of anyone outside seeing it."

Izumi gave a small smile to this.

"Good idea."

"What about the door ?" Chao asked.

"It would slow any zombie, but it would lock us inside."

Izumi gave a firm nod.

I agreed, locking them has it's advantage, but I don't like not having an exit strategy."

"I have an idea for this." I said.

Leading us to one of the room upstairs then at it's floor to ceiling windows.

"If we put a mattress below this window, we'd have an emergency exit. A jump from the second floor might still hurt, but it's better than being trapped."

Izumi opened the windows, observe, then jumped out. She then checked out the hight and the garden it lead too.

She then came back inside the house giving me a nod.

"We will do that."

Seeing nobody propose anything further I lead them to other task.

"It's nearly noon, Izumi if you could prepare something to eat, Chao and me will clean the house. Then I will explain what I know while we eat."

Izumi which had started toward the kitchen at my first words, paused slightly at my last words.

"Place them behind the garage." She said softly.

I leaned toward Chao as I watch Izumi leave and whispered

"I leave the one in the kitchen to you."

I then went toward the bedroom, hearing a soft "Thank you" from behind me.

Using the side door so as not to go near Izumi with my burden, I went behind the garage.

Three other bodies were already lying behind the garage—apparently the zombies Izumi had cleared from around the property.

I placed the child slowly by the woman, there was a good chance it was her mother, he saw photo of the two together in the house.

I stayed there for a while, staring at the two bodies.

In Project Zomboid, I'd killed thousands of zombies. They were sprites and models. Numbers on a kill counter. Houses were containers filled with loot, and corpses were obstacles you stepped over.

There had never been children.

I looked down at the tiny body I'd just carried outside.

'Fuck.'

Until now, some part of me had still been treating this like the game.

It wasn't.

These houses belonged to people. Those things wandering the streets had been people.

And somewhere across Kentucky, millions of families were going through the same thing.

I swallowed and forced myself back toward the house.



They were now upstairs, the food on their plate nearly gone.

I then started with the story of the game, although much was still unknown even more than ten years since it came out.

"It started a few weeks ago. At first it was only bad smell which persisted."

At Chao interest, I stopped her. "I don't know how long exactly, but we should be able to find out from newspapers."

"Eight days ago, the phoneline were cut for repair, then six day ago a military truck carrying an unknown substance crashed. It was quickly secured by the military."

"Do you know where exactly." Asked Choa with map in hand

'She must have found this in the house.'

"I know it's somewhere near March Ridge, but nothing clearer."

"Since then the government and the army tell to all that there is no danger and that everything is under control."

"Three days ago the newspaper talked about an Illness Outbreak in Muldraugh."

"North of March Ridge." Choa noted. "What were the symptom ?".

"Some talked about 'flu-like' illness, other talked about a rabies outbreak, from the sign of bite wounds. The US military opened their medical facilities in March Ridge and Fort Knox, they may have more information."

"By this time the military had created an exclusion zone around the area."

"Two days ago, the President return early from the G7 summit, but the White House declare it has nothing with what happen around there. And the exclusion zone was increased to the whole region."

"Another event to note is that this evening there was a bright meteor shower over Kentucky. No idea if it had any consequence on the following event, but I know that you will want to know the most you can."

Chao frown.

"A meteor shower ? After the start of the epidemy ? Low chance that it did anything, but I will note it in case it's useful."

"Yesterday, more military personnel arrived from Fort Cambell, and a No-fly zone was established over the whole region."

"In three days the European Community will advises it's member state to close their borders and a quarantine camp within the Exclusion Zone will be abandoned."

At my words Chao stopped taking note.

"And the reason you know what will happen is ?"

I looked at her while wondering what she was talking about, then I remembered what happened with her last contractor.

"That is what happened in the original story, and our action wouldn't have impacted it."

That seemed to calm her slightly.

"Chao, let's me be clear, I will not use this part of your technology.".

She looked at me in doubt.

"Even if thing don't go as you wish ?"

I nodded seriously.

"As far as I'm concerned this technology is sealed, and you are not to recreate it."

While doubt still seem to cloud around Chao she seemed to accept my words, for now.

Izumi however had a frown on her face

"What are you talking about ? What technology ?"

Chao not wanting to talk about the technology which gave her pain and the loss of a friend looked away.

"The original Chao Lingshen developed a technology which allow her to travel in time to save her world." I explained

"And you don't want to use it ? You may be able to prevent this disaster."

"No !" Cried Chao.

I almost reached toward her, then stopped myself.

"Time travel is extremely dangerous, even without seeking of time paradox. No two world river of time is the same, some have correcting force bringing back the narrative to it's original state, other erase completely the time traveler."

Izumi meanwhile was watching Chao with wide eyes learning that this girl could travel through time.

"Anyway, back to the storyline."

"In four day a photograph of a zombie will end in a newspaper bringing panic to the whole world."

"How ?" Izumi asked.

"Pardon ?" Stopped in my speech I looked at her befubled.

Snorting she continued.

"You said that the region would be closed so how did this photograph went out."

"It is possible to exit the region by passing through the blockage of the military, at least if you weren't infected."

"Then why don't we take a car and leave the region ?"

At Izumi words, Chao looked intently at me.

"How does the pathogens spread ?"

I nodded at her with a wry smile.

"There two known way of propagation. Airborn and from infected bodily fluids entering the bloodstream. So a bite or unprotected sex."

"So us and everybody leaving in this region ?" She asked.

"We are protected, from either way by a defense I bought from the Catalog. We don't even create anticorp against it. Everybody else thought are contamined."

"So they will all transform into zombies ?" Asked Izumi

I shook my head.

"While there is two way of propagation, the airborn can be survived by a really small part of human, it may not even be ten percent. However even if one of those ten percent is bitten he will transform."

"But the military won't let's the bitten go out of the exclusion zone will they ?" Asked Izumi.

Chao answered with a sad look on her face.

"Of course not, but it's not like those who survived the airborn weren't contamined. They just survived it. However the people around them will breath the same air as the contamined, an air which has been contamined by them."

I raised my hands in defeat.

"Exactly, and so the virus has already left the exclusion zone, it just didn't have enough time to incubate inside the outsider. Which is why there is no sign of zombie outside."

I let a few second past before continuing.

"And that is beside the danger which is approaching them."

Izumi frowned before understanding.

"The noise."

"Indeed, so much people in one place create a lot of noise which will attract the zomboid. And what will happen when the military see the zomboid."

"They will shoot them, which will attract even more zombie, zomboid ?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face, before continuing.

"In the end the the zomboid will breach the border fence at multiple place leading to it's total collapse in five day."

I shrugged at the question.

"It was the name which were given to them in the original story."

"Anyway, I know what I believe is the most secure place to be right known, but what about you Izumi you are our expert in survival ?"

She looked at me with suspicions.

"What if I tell you that leaving the region is the safest thing to do ?"

"Then we will leave it. I already told you Izumi, when it concern survival I will follow your order."

Ignoring my answer she felled in silence then asked a few questions.

"If we leave now, how long will it take to be let through the military's blockage ? How long will they take to reach to closest large city ? Would we be able to secure a defendable place ?"

"I don't believe that we would be able to go through the military blockage in under five days, if we are optimist, maybe three days."

"The Knox illness, which is it's name, will be confirmed in different big city, all over the world, in eight days."

"All over the world in eight days." Izumi ask in shock, while I took Graal knowledge for my two companion, they hadn't really incorporated the knowledge yet.

"They ease of travel in this age make any disease easy to spread, unfortunately."

"As for a defendable base, we would be able to find some but acquiring it would take way longer than a month, moreover most gun shop will have been emptied by this time and we wouldn't be able to arm ourself."

"How long is the incubation period ?" Chao asked writing in her notebook once more.

"Around two and three days, quicker if you are bitten multiple time."

Nodding gravely Chao said.

"Ten to thirteen days."

Izumi tensed.

"Until what ?"

"The Knox Infection is spreading uncontrollably across the planet." I answer for Chao.

"In fact it was in eleven day in the original story. In eighteen days, every government will have fallen and billions will be dead, only smalls groups of immune survivors will remain."

"Faced with this much zomboid, it is only time before humanity fall." I tell them gravely.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Outside a car alarm could be heard far away.

The food on my plate had long since gone cold.

"And there is nothing we can do against this ?" Izumi asked.

She look at me.

"You have this much information, if you warn people, surely it can be prevented."

Chao still in though answer distractly.

"Not with a government who refuse to acknowledge the problem, we would be disappeared so as not to 'spread panic'."

She then raised her head toward me.

"That's why you brough us here didn't you ? Not to save the billions but to preserve humanity."

Izumi's face showed the shock she felt.

"How ? We are only three person."

"it's not the number it's who we are."

Chao pointed toward me.

"Someone who knows what's coming, and therefore knows what we have to prepare for."

She pointed toward Izumi.

"Someone who can allow us and other survivor to live through this apocalypse, in the less dangerous place."

She then pointed toward herself.

"A technical genius, able to give humanity it's control of the technology it lost, and maybe find a vaccine one day."

Izumi jumped at those words.

"You can create a vaccine ?"

Choa winced.

"Maybe, but I would have to be able to study it. I would need sample, I would need a specialized facility. It would take years of study, maybe decade."

Izumi slumped at that.

"That's why I say we weren't her to save the billions."

"But we can't let's them die." She pleaded.

I looked at the despair on their face.

"You missed a few point Chao."

"Izumi isn't only a survival specialist and a great combatant, she is also a great teacher, which mean that she would be able to train any survivor we rescue. Increasing their survival capacity. Moreover she is an alchemist, with it she can fortify a base, create defensive measure, but also create item you need that would need factory to craft."

He looked at Izumi.

"Am I wrong ?"

She looked at me still in despair.

"I would need to know what I had to created by yes it's possible."

The light came back to Chao's eyes.

"It would let's us gain a lot of time, we could have a city of survivor in years instead of decade."

I nodded with a small smile.

"While it's not much, I do have an idea for the surrounding region, outside the exclusion zone."

I sliver of hope appeared on Izumi's face.

I looked at Chao.

"If we use the emergency broadcast system, what would we be able to send ?"

Chao frowned.

"From here, nothing much, we would need access to a radio tower, and even then with the governement blocking communication...."

"We could send short broadcast, or some short message."

"Would it be able to send fax ? And what would be the range." I insisted.

"Maybe, it would have to be a short one, a page maybe two. As for it's range we should be able to reach the neerest town outside the exclusion zone." She said hesitantly.

I nodded.

"Last question, would it damage the communication system ?"

Her answer this time was clear.

"No, I may need to rig something, but once done it would be plug and play on the radio tower."

A slight smile was now on my face.

"In that case, if we have Izumi write survival instruction, a few important detail on the infection, like the fact that those who survive the airborn strain, can still be transformed with bite, we may be able to save a few more person."

Chao nodded while in though.

"The range is limited, but if we add at the end of the message a request to send it further we could reach further. It won't be much but even if a few more survive it would be a win."

I turned toward Izumi in warning.

"It may not be much, but it would still help the occasional person."

Izumi blinked at me in a daze.

I turned back to Chao.

"If you need me to help you with the software, tell me."

"How long would it take you to rig it ?" I ask Chao

Taking a few note on her notebook she frowned before nodding.

"It depend too much on the radio tower, I would need to inspect it to say for sure."

I nodded in thought.

"There is a big chance that the police station will crawl with zomboid, to much for only you to go, I would only be a burden but I don't like the idea of only one person to go anyway."

A few seconds passed, Chao taking some more note.

"Izumi, if you used alchemy to create a secure basement do you believe I would be safe to stay inside for a whole day."

Izumi nodded slowly.

"The ... zomboid... aren't stronger than a human ?"

I shook my head.

"Most aren't much stronger than me, the problem come when they form a horde, the simple press of human body is rather powerful".

Izumi then nodded more firmly.

"In that case then yes I can create a basement secure enough for you to survive a horde."

"It won't be fully secure, and I would be wary to have somebody stay in it for more than a week, and only if the weather stay the same. Be against zombies it should suffice. I would suggest stocking it with enough supply for a week, just in case a horde really come just on top of you and we take time to get rid of it."

"Good, do you have any objection with the plan this plan ?" I ask the two women.

Choa still her head in her notebook gave me a distracted "no".

Izumi however had a caveat.

"Not as such, however, that will need to wait at least a day. I would prefer for us to secure a bit more this base, find some food and I also want to check the land around here. Moreover you didn't tell us where this communication tower is."

'Oups, forgot about that'.

I took the map from Chao and spread it over the short table.

"We are at Riverside, where exactly I don't know."

I then slided my finger until it reached the river then along side it until I reached the police station.

"And the police station is there."

Izumi now greatly interested looked intently at the map.

"Tomorrow I will find where we are then we will plan how to reach it."

She continued to study the map, while Chao was still in her calculation.

I looked at the company phone, we had spend the whole afternoon talking.

"Now that they are decided, you get command back."

I tell Izumi with a smirk.

"Outside those objectives you tell us what to do."

Izumi shrugged, giving a few order to Chao then telling me to stay upstairs to keep watch to the surrounding.

As she was leaving, she seemed to thing about something, then told me to do like her.

She then proceed to do some awkward movement.

Left foot forward.

Step back.

Forward.

Sideways.

Never cross the feet.

Keep the knees slightly bent.

Keep my weight underneath me.

"Do those movement ten time, then rest for two minutes then do it again. Anytime you have time, do them, they will help you improve your footwork and prevent you from falling again.

She smirked at me then left, bellow Chao laugh could be heard, she clearly heard Izumi's order.