"Is everyone here?"

Scientist Lisa Xi looked around the crowded room and adjusted her glasses. She glanced down once at the stack of papers in her hands before handing them off to a nervous assistant.

"Alright. Then I'll get started. The zombie strain is getting stronger, and the symptoms are becoming harder to properly identify. To mitigate any misinformation, I'll be sharing what I know about the infection."

Lu Hao stood at the back of the lobby, near the entrance of the room. He watched the members of the SG, taking note of anyone who didn't seem like they were paying attention.

"By now, everyone should know that there are different kinds of zombies. Not just in their strength rankings, but in their physical abilities as well. A level one zombie is always the slow-moving and stupid kind that blindly follows its instincts, while a level seven zombie has a wider range of possible behaviors and abilities. You may find an enraged zombie that charges at its prey, or you may find a stealthy zombie that tracks and waits for an opportunity to strike. Early theories assumed that these differences in zombie behavior stemmed from the manner in which they evolved, but after some study, I've found that these differences are correlated to who the host was and what they could do, as well as to the symptoms they showed throughout the infection. In other words, specific kinds of zombies are associated with specific kinds of people and symptoms."

While Lisa Xi was in the middle of speaking, Hong Sheng came in quietly through the doors. He normally avoided the main SG camp and only ever came when Lu Hao asked him to. A trace of nervousness was on his face when he saw the crowd of people in the room, but once he caught sight of Lu Hao to the side, he relaxed incrementally. Lu Hao nodded and smiled at him, and Hong Sheng nodded back, coming over to stand by the wall beside him. Once they had silently greeted each other, Hong Sheng and Lu Hao both turned their attentions back toward Lisa Xi.

"Like with any disease," she said, "some of these symptoms don't mean anything unless they come with others, so I'll first be going over what are some fairly universal signs of an infection.

"The basic process of becoming a zombie involves the mutation of the cell. The zombie virus infects the DNA and begins to remake the body from its building blocks—meaning that first the virus breaks down the body from its human state, and then begins to rebuild it to a zombie state. The most common signs of infection involve the breakdown of the body. For example, 'black blood', where the eyes and other soft organs start to disintegrate into a viscous black matter. Though the eyes are the most noticeable target of black blood, an infected person may also find themselves experiencing abdominal discomfort and expelling black matter. Many of you may have known people who claimed to have been suffering from food poisoning or diarrhea before transforming into zombies. I'll tell you this: if someone's shitting black fleshy goop, it's not from eating an expired can of food.

"The loss of nails, hair, and teeth are also signs. During an infection, the nails and teeth loosen and may either fall out on their own or be pushed out by the new growth of strengthened claws and fangs. It's common for the nailbeds to become bloody and raw as the human nails and teeth loosen from the body. This is why the nailbeds on zombies are black—it's because of the dried blood caked underneath. So pay attention to the mouths and hands. Some zombies keep the human teeth and only have claws, while others have fangs but keep the human nails, but rarely will a zombie retain both human teeth and nails.

"Finally, the most misunderstood and hardest-to-identify common symptom is muscle degradation. When a person becomes a zombie, their muscles will first weaken and atrophy as the virus breaks down those cells. This is why new zombies shuffle as they walk and can only just barely raise their arms—their muscles are too weak to fully support their body. Later on, however, the muscles are rebuilt to become stronger than an average humans, which is what grants level 3 zombies and higher their inhuman speed and strength. Contrary to popular belief, a person will not start to rot and decay after becoming a zombie. A common myth is that zombies are dead, and that their bodies are rotten corpses. This is the fault of the term 'zombie', which has been used in pop culture to mean those reanimated corpses rising from the dead. But in our reality, a zombie is not actually a corpse. They are capable of healing, they are capable of bleeding, and they will die when the brain is destroyed. A dead person will not transform into a zombie—they need to be alive, or in a state capable of living, for the infection to take root. Someone who is already dying won't last long enough to become a zombie. The only cases of 'the walking dead' are when victims of severe injuries become zombies, in which case, any loose flesh may rot and any open wounds may fester.

"Those three signs are the most common symptoms of infection. Other symptoms may arise, especially in ability users, who tend tend to exhibit less visible symptoms of infection since their bodies are already partially... changed."

Though Lisa Xi kept a cool expression on her face, her hesitation on those last words was clear. It could have been that she hadn't wanted to imply anything that would insult or cast suspicions on ability users, but Lu Hao wondered if, maybe, she was holding something back.

Once the lecture was over, Lu Hao went over to thank Lisa Xi for her help. The corner of her lip pulled up when he approached, seductive without even trying to be, but when she glanced behind him, the amusement in her face dimmed. Taking a step back, she said, "It's no trouble. I've got to get back to the lab—if you need to discuss research, you know where to find me."

Lu Hao blinked at her hasty departure. He turned around but only saw Hong Sheng there, still standing by the wall, face turned down and body stiff with anxiety. Lu Hao frowned, and after throwing one last look toward where Lisa Xi had gone, he went back toward Hong Sheng.

"Hey," Lu Hao said. He had asked Hong Sheng to attend the lecture, but he knew that Hong Sheng would normally steer clear of a place so packed with people and had wondered if Hong Sheng would really come. "I'm glad you made it."

Hong Sheng shrugged a shoulder. "Needed to find you," he said. He then lifted his head and looked around as if searching for someone, and when he didn't find anyone, he turned to Lu Hao and continued, "Tomorrow... do you have time?"

"Tomorrow? Sure. I'll be in camp, but I'll be heading out the next day for a patrol."

Hong Sheng bit his lip and nodded, his hands continuously fidgeting with his sleeves. He was hesitating, waffling as he usually did when he needed something but was unsure if he should ask for it.

"What do you need me for?" Lu Hao leaned a shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed and, in a playful tone, asked, "Asking me out on a date?"

Hong Sheng immediately spluttered, face turning bright red and eyes going wide. He looked like he might trip and fall over in embarrassment. "N—n—my—I'm—"

"Calm down, it was a joke."

"I know," Hong Sheng muttered, and he covered his face with his hands for a few seconds. After calming down, he lowered his hands and looked at Lu Hao with a conflicted expression. "Today... this morning, I finished my prototype. I need to test it."

"Great," Lu Hao said. "There's a patrol group heading out in the morning. We can hand it to them."

Hong Sheng shook his head. "No, I need to test it."

It was then, seeing the way Hong Sheng's gaze was carefully angled to the corner, that Lu Hao understood what he meant. He frowned. "No. It's dangerous—the nearest zombies are all level 4 at the very least. They would tear you apart."

Hong Sheng crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowing. "We need a normal human as a baseline."

"We can get someone from a patrol group to do it. Not all of them have abilities."

"If something unexpected happens, they might not be able to deal with it."

"And you can?"

"Yes." Hong Sheng paused. "...By running behind your legs."

Lu Hao's lip twitched. "And you've already sussed out that I'm available for you to hide behind. I see. Fine." Lu Hao sighed. After weighing the pros and cons of agreeing and going with him, or rejecting him only to find out that Hong Sheng found his way out anyway and most likely ended up mauled and bitten to death, he said, "Tomorrow, be ready. We're just going to do a quick test with the weakest zombies we can find. And you have to stay in the car."

Hong Sheng blinked. That single blink was enough to tell Lu Hao that Hong Sheng wasn't going to listen to a single word he said.

"I swear," Lu Hao said, "if something goes wrong, and you get yourself in trouble, I'm going to throw you, through the air, all the way back to the base."

Hong Sheng nodded. "That's what I'm bringing you for."