Early summer.
Chewing another sandwich made in haste, I continued to stare at the smartphone screen while watching another movie.
I worked as a salesman at the bazaar, selling various jackets and coats for all seasons, even down jackets were in stock and gathering dust somewhere in the bins. It’s just a pity that the outlet was not mine, I’m just a hired worker on a meager salary. The only way to earn a little more was through sales from which I received a small percentage.
Looking around, I saw a quite decent young man approaching my stall, judging by his clothes, clearly not poor.
- Good man, buy a jacket, you won’t find better quality anywhere, just look! - I began to advertise the product when he approached.
However, the guy didn’t even turn his head and walked past completely ignoring me.
- Eh, you’re a bad man. Your kids will wash their legs in bottles. - I grumbled.
Turns out this guy was not deaf and despite the noise he clearly heard me, even stopped and looked back. But in the end he just shook his head and moved on.
Well, to hell with you. I sat down again and continued to chew my sandwich.
Suddenly a message sounded in my ears, just as it appeared in text form before my eyes:
Interface activation.
Make your choice.
1 Human.
Positive effects: Unlock status.
Negative effects: No
2 - Zombie.
Positive effects: Unlock status. An increase in all basic parameters by three times those of the average person. No pain. To kill, the brain must be destroyed. Enhanced self-preservation instinct and muscle memory. Increased life expectancy, cure for all diseases and disabilities, provided limbs are present. Other zombies will not show aggression towards you until your sanity is restored.
Negative effects: No intelligence until level 20. Thirst for flesh and the desire to infect as many living beings as possible. The eternal "Primal Zombie" mark, which can be seen by all other users of the system.
Attention! If you do not make a choice within 5 minutes, Human will be selected by default.
The interface takes into account killing zombies only in the 3 meter range. Killing other sentient beings does not grant experience.
People under 12 years old cannot become original zombies.
If no intelligent creature chooses to become zombified, then the activation of the interface will be canceled. The statistical probability of such a scenario is 0%.
I almost choked on my sandwich. Quickly chewing what I had already bitten off. Then I put the sandwich back on the plate and looked around.
Opposite to me there was another counter at which its owner Leya was sitting, there were two people at her counter, and several more people were passing by. They all froze and clearly stared at the message in front of them, trying to digest what was happening.
So I’m not the only one with the text in front of my face. I felt better somehow.
Even if it’s fake, it won’t bother me if I react as if it’s all real.
The last paragraph in the message was quite funny. Essentially it hinted that everything is in our hands and if everyone chooses to remain humans, then there will be no problems, but I am inclined to believe that the likelihood of this is really zero.
There are a huge number of old and sick people in this world. Even if they are not taken into account, there will be many zombie fans who will want to press the red button. And simply people who have nothing much to lose. Actually, I am one of these people.
And how can an ordinary loser salesman compete with a zombie? I can’t handle this. It’s better to deprive me of my mind and to hell with it. If my head is blown off, then let it be so. Since there is no intelligence then there will be no self-awareness, it’s like I’ll die in my sleep, and if I still wake up somehow, then I'll become stronger and healthier gaining some advantage.
Stop... "If my head is blown off"... I just realized this can become a key to surviving as a zombie. In my row they mostly sell clothes, but nearby there is a point where they sell body armor and tactical helmets, what if it helps?
I took one last look at my goods for a split second, doubting whether I should leave the counter unattended, because they would ask me later. However, I doubted it for no longer than a second, to hell with the counter and to hell with someone else’s goods. Turning around, I ran towards the store where, as I remembered, helmets were sold.
This bazaar was the largest in the city, shopping arcades stretched for kilometers and there was a sea of people. Fortunately, my shopping row was not the most popular so there weren’t too many people.
Leya tried to call out to me, asking if I had this heresy before my eyes, but I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I ignored her. The atmosphere in the market was strange, people seemed to be frozen, some were still moving, but most continued to stare in front of them in bewilderment and discuss what they saw with others. I sped up and ran around them one after another and soon burst into a small specialty store.
- Who knows, maybe they are conducting a survey using new technologies or something like that, checking the awareness of citizens. - said the big guy addressing the local saleswoman.
There was no one in the store except the saleswoman and the security guard, who were actually conducting a dialogue when I ran inside.
- Hello friends, can I have the most expensive closed tactical helmet and body armor?
The saleswoman smiled politely.
- Of course, our most expensive and high-quality specimens are presented here, take your pick. - She pointed to the two stands I needed.
The guard stared at me with obvious suspicion, even despite my attempt to look relaxed and smile.
- Do you accept credit cards? - I asked, taking out my smartphone.
- Yes we do. - the saleswoman answered.
There was less than three minutes left. I didn’t ask any questions, there was no time. If you ask questions, a lot of manure will pour into my ears. I myself, of course, didn’t know a damn thing about such products. Even if they sell crap here, it's better than nothing. And I didn’t have any money.
- I’ll take this helmet and this body armor, can I try it on? - I asked with a smile.
- Of course, I’ll bring it now, just tell me the required size.
- No, it’s not worth it, I would like to try on these particular specimens from the stand, if possible, the size is suitable.
- Okay, come here. Do you need help or can you handle it yourself? - the saleswoman asked as she approached the fitting room.
I asked for help. There were only 2 minutes left, but I patiently put on my new clothes and even was explained how to secure them correctly. There were shouts and commotion outside, and my relaxed smile cracked.
The saleswoman also began to get a little nervous.
- Kyle, could you please check what is the reason for such noise. - she turned to the guard.
Kyle clearly froze and was thinking intensely about something, but when he heard the saleswoman, he still opened the door outside and began to look around.
- Someone lost consciousness. - Kyle reported, listening to the commotion outside.
With less than a minute left, I felt a little more relaxed as my new clothes were finally firmly attached to my body.
It was quite noisy outside, Kyle clearly didn’t like what he saw. He closed the doors, hovered for a second and then turned in my direction and looked straight into my eyes.
I just smiled wryly and made my choice - a zombie.
Attention! When choosing a zombie before reaching level 20, there will be no intelligence. Thirst for flesh and the desire to infect as many living beings as possible. The eternal "Primal Zombie" mark, which can be seen by all other users of the system.
Do you confirm your choice?
“I confirm,” I said this out loud, not paying attention to Kyle who moved in my direction.
A picture appeared before my eyes, but I didn’t even have time to realize what exactly I saw. My mind simply turned off.
