Finally they left the market and ran out into the field. Everywhere around from almost all sides, except for the side of the bazaar, there was an open area, only occasionally within sight could you see houses in the distance. Between the fields there was a highway in the direction of which they were moving. There were few people in the field, so they ran away from the bazaar and began to walk. Everyone was tired.

Laura handed over her shield to Vadim. Even though it weighed only 4 kilograms, the shield is not a bag; running half a kilometer with it, and even in such a tense situation was not so easy. Her hand was clearly aching.

The other three were a young guy whose car they were moving towards, a woman of about thirty who hid behind Kyle last time they met primal zombie, and another man of about 35, apparently her husband, although they behaved rather coldly with each other.

Kyle turned to the young guy.

- What's your name?

- Yura.

- What is your plan Yura?

After all, the car belonged to him and Kyle was not yet going to take away someone else’s property, despite everything that was happening.

- I live alone, except that I have a girlfriend, but nothing serious. In general, I would prefer to stay with you guys.

Kyle wanted to ask about his relatives and friends, but stopped short. It was none of his business. Plus they had other things to worry about right now.

- My name is Odette - the woman who joined along the way suddenly spoke. Hesitating a little, she added pointing to a 35-year-old man - and this is my husband Mores - We have two small children in the city, could you help us get to them?

- What is the address? - Kyle clarified.

- Biransky 45.

If he remembered correctly, it was about a hundred kilometers from here to this street, he would have to drive through almost the entire city. For example, Laura lived on the outskirts and only 10 kilometers from here, and he himself was not much further away, so it was convenient for them to work at the bazaar, but Odette and Mores clearly just came here for shopping.

Vadim had already saved his life, so he himself hoped that he would stay by his side. Yura has not shown himself in any way yet, but the car belongs to him, and so far he has not created any problems, at least he did not escape during the initial attack like others did. But risking his life and the lives of others and running across the whole city for the sake of two strangers and their children? It was cruel, but he simply could not afford such a thing.

- Sorry Odette but it’s too far, we won’t go there, at least in the near future for sure. - Kyle concluded.

Odette turned pale. After a short silence, she turned to her husband.

- Well, why are you silent? Are you going to save your children? - Odette asked angrily.

- Do I look like Superman? What do you think I should do? You heard them, it’s too far... - Mores shook his head.

- If it was not me you would have remained in that fucking booth and wouldn’t have even stuck your nose out, you useless coward! - Odette roared.

- Stop yelling you idiot! It would be better if I stayed there. At least I wouldn’t have to endure your whining. - Mores hissed and added, having calmed down a little - It might be possible to find the cops or the military and ask for help, I would prefer to stay with you - he said, turning his gaze to Kyle.

- What kind of father are you!? Your children can die at any moment and you only think about your own skin! - Odette got angry again.

Mores didn’t answer and decided to simply ignore her. And Kyle thought about it. If we are talking about relatives, friends or even parents, then the relationships are varied, you never know what kind of parents there are, not to mention the rest, it’s difficult for him to judge. However, your own children? He doubted he could ignore his own children, even if trying to save them meant almost committing suicide. And how can you even trust a person who is not ready to risk his life even for the sake of his own children? Kyle cast a thoughtful glance at Mores.

They walked in silence for some time. Yura rummaged through his iPhone and said that he had the Internet, after which he began to look for useful information.

Kyle was haunted by the girl who was bitten by the primal and who disappeared afterwards, so he asked Yura to clarify this question. Soon Yura reported sad news: the primal ones infected everyone and after death the infected person became a zombie, and these zombies were in no way inferior in strength and vitality to the primal ones themselves. It was still unclear about those infected or bitten but still alive. However, we can already conclude that the number of zombies will grow at an incredible pace. Even if these zombies were slow and brainless like in the movies, it would still be a disaster for humanity. But with those super zombies now it was not at all clear how to stay alive, let alone everything else.

- I am a sergeant. - Vadim responded - there is a military unit a couple of kilometers from here, there are firearms available, albeit not many. But if I were now on the territory of a military unit, I would probably rush to get a weapon first thing, so I doubt that there is anything left there. Just a bunch of armed and frightened people. Moreover, almost all the locals probably know about the presence of some firearms on the territory and may well try their luck as well.

- Somehow you don’t speak very kindly about your colleagues - Kyle noted.

- Now is peacetime, the majority of military personnel in the current circumstances are unlikely to be any different from ordinary people. Subordination was supported primarily by salary; it was necessary to try very hard to bring the matter to serious penalties or punishments. In the absence of centralized power, the system will quickly fall apart, this includes all services and not just the military and police. - he looked back at Mores - but since you mentioned the military, this is a completely workable option for you, the chain of command will not fall apart right away, so there is a high probability that now you will be able to fall under the protection of the armed forces, and perhaps even ask for help.

- Aren’t you going there? - Mores clarified.

After thinking a little, I made a decision - We don’t need protection Mores, but you obviously need it. You can't come with us.

- Why? - Mores was confused.

However, no one answered him.

Odette laughed and then added.

- I’ll try to find other travel companions, probably many will try to return to the city. Thank you for getting me out of the bazaar.

After what had been said, she separated from the group and walked towards the highway, which was already very close. Cars were still driving along the roads, many of which still made it out of the market area. After all not that much time passed since all of this started.

Kyle doubted for a second that this was ok, but what can he tell her? Now they definitely won’t go to the city center, and Odette clearly doesn’t intend to wait. All that was left was to remain silent.

Mores tried to shout after her, but Odette simply ignored him, he himself did not follow her. Married life at its finest.

While there was free time, Kyle checked the status.

Status.

Name - Kyle.

Race - Human.

Level - 1

Strength 11

Agility 9

Stamina 10

Toughness 10

Inventory (locked)

Auction (locked)

One question per day (locked)

Store (locked)

Mind (locked)

Unallocated stats - 2

Credits - 1

The system did not respond to calls to itself, however, when focusing on a certain part of the text, for example, strength, it was possible to obtain slightly detailed information.

For example, strength, among other obvious things, could help develop maximum speed due to the power of muscles and the force of repulsion from the ground, but at the same time, you cannot become a good runner on strength alone without dexterity, which is responsible for reflexes, flexibility, coordination, and so on. Without stamina, you won’t be able to run for long; besides, it was responsible for the regeneration of the body, resistance to diseases and infections. And finally without toughness if you run beyond human capabilities, you can actually break something, it was toughness who was responsible for the durability of the skin, muscles, internal organs, and so on.

In any case, there was no point in worrying too much about the fact that his mortal body would not withstand his current run speed. Kyle wanted to personally experience the effect of the so-called system status and added strength stat.

The body warmed up a little and goosebumps appeared on the skin, but soon everything stopped. Kirill felt the difference, even if it was not big and it was not so easy to notice, but there was definitely a difference, it was felt even in a banal walk, not to mention the equipment he was wearing and its weight. Maybe this is the chance for survival?

Soon they finally reached the car. Subaru WRX blue, the guy was clearly not from the poor. When they got into the car, Kyle decided it was time to voice his thoughts.

- As far as I understand, there are only two options. The first is that we look for a bunker, ship or other safe place and try to sit out as long as we can until we join military if they will manage to create safe camp. The second is killing zombies and judging by what I've seen so far this is exactly what this so-called system expects from us. I have already received the first level and am convinced that the effect, albeit small, is there and I plan to stick to the second option for as much as possible, if you have any objections, I would like to hear them.

No one had any objections.

They covered a couple of kilometers towards military unit without any problems, seeing only one overturned car along the way. Stopping not far from the military checkpoint, Kyle said.

- Good luck to you Mores.

However, Mores was in no hurry to go out.

- Maybe I could just stay with you? - he asked hopefully.

The answer was silence.

- It's because of the children, right? - he laughed - And you are all such tough moralists and would have gone anywhere for the rescue, but for some reason you refused to go to the city center and save these very children. Where are your morals? You think you are better than me? Damn bastards, f**k you! - he shouted at the end and got out of the car.

They moved on. Now there were no longer fields around, but residential buildings around. High-rise buildings could be seen in the distance. However, it was still far from the city center; these were all just outlying areas.

Kyle received a call from his friend Alex. His girlfriend and another friend were with him. They were going to pick up their parents and find a safe place for them.

- Kyle, be careful, I saw a zombie throw a roundhouse kick, can you imagine? Fucking zombie kung fu fighter. That shit is crazy.

After chatting with a friend, Kyle voiced the problem.

- We need to find some relatively quiet and safe place for the young and old, not everyone will be able to fight and we will need a temporary base.

Yuri offered his country house. A two-meter fence, a three-story house with a bunch of rooms and a couple of bathrooms. Generator available. And most importantly, it was not located too far away. Kyle happily agreed and soon he and his friends transported their loved ones to this very house, simultaneously fighting off zombies that appeared more and more often every minute. Fortunately, the friends had a couple of baseball bats, and their parents also had a couple of hunting rifles. It was quite possible for them to safely overwhelm one zombie with a crowd.

At first, everything went well, but the number of zombies increased at an incredible speed, even despite the fact that the population in this area was not very dense. At first they refused any forays outside and held the defense, but the zombies did not crowd outside the fence but simply climbed over the fence into the territory of the mansion, and this happened more and more often. When they had to fight three zombies at once, the first losses occurred.

In the end, they decided that this couldn’t continue, but they couldn’t get out of here either. Firstly, there are only two cars left, and secondly, given the number of zombies and their habits, they definitely won’t throw themselves under the wheels with indifference, they’d rather jump on the car and break the glass with something. Yura suggested taking all the food into the basement and hiding there, and that’s what they did.

Of course, Kyle could not stay in the basement and patiently wait for miracles. At this rate, they would still die sooner or later. The doors to the basement were located near one of the corridors, then there was a narrow corridor at an angle, at the end of which there was actually a basement room. Here they decided to hold the defense; it would be difficult for even two zombies to squeeze inside at the same time.

A dispute arose about this because they could have simply sat out, they would have had enough water and food for the near future, but Kyle was supported by Vadim Yura and Alex, who essentially remained the main fighting force. During this time, they have already raised many levels and realized the importance of personal power for their own survival.

By the evening he was more exhausted mentally, but also physically Kyle felt irritated. He was blamed for the death of one of his friends, for putting everyone at risk, for the terrible stench and sight of blood, corpses, and so on, because they could not take the corpses out of here, they had to put them inside because of which the stench was terrible. There was also risk for epidemic. Not everyone was able to adapt to new circumstances so easily, and Kyle increasingly found himself thinking that he regretted it. He shouldn't have come here, he shouldn't have gathered a whole crowd and tried to keep them safe. Only fighters capable of fighting were needed, the rest were just ballast and useless