Alan had become ruthless in these moments. He looked coldly at the parents who were supposedly trying to protect their children and wanted to teach them an important lesson.
"If you don't fight, you'll die." Alan continued dragging the infected and ordered the survivors to deal with them using melee weapons.
At first, to make things easier, he cut off both of the infected's hands and even knocked them to the ground. The moment they tried to stand, the people who were trembling in fear took the opportunity to kill them.
He eventually categorized those who were good with melee weapons, the strongest, and the most resourceful. In just a few minutes, Alan had divided the group into three categories.
"If you're not comfortable with one weapon, try another. Machete, axe, spear, knife, mace, metal bar. Anything can be a weapon, and killing the infected in total silence will save us from being ambushed by a horde."
Alan moved behind the survivors who were fighting and shouted:
"Any lethal blow will kill the infected, but the most effective way is to aim for the head."
Even though any attack could work, killing an infected with a blow to the head instantly disconnected their body. Otherwise, the infected would still move even if killed in another way.
Alan laid out all kinds of weapons on the ground that could be used to kill the infected, including crossbows, which were the closest thing to a firearm.
Kaplan looked at all the survivors working hard to kill the infected and felt genuinely happy. What Alan was doing was giving them a better chance to survive. Only by learning to adapt could everyone move forward.
If they did this at the bases with the other survivors, even if many died, the strength of the group would grow.
It's true that the strong protect the weak, but that idea didn't apply here, where everyone was in danger of being injured.
If people grew more confident, they would lose their fear and become stronger than those who did nothing.
"Good, that was well done." Alan applauded everyone who bravely fought and then said,
"Keep the weapons, recover the arrows, and gather the corpses. We have to burn everything before we leave."
Tommy then stepped in to give instructions in Alan's place. Kaplan, meanwhile, asked:
"Why bother burning them?"
"If the bodies still have the fungus in them, what do you think will happen when they turn to dust? If what's left of them spreads through the air, we could end up infected too."
Corporal Kaplan shivered and muttered,
"So that's why FEDRA burns the bodies too."
"Yeah, that might be the reason."
After waiting an hour, the fog gradually began to lift. During that time, several loud noises were heard, like cars crashing.
Claire looked at the scene in the distance through the skylight. There were infected on the mountain path, though not many. But on the highway, a dense horde of infected had gathered. These infected weren't in small groups like yesterday—they were covering the entire road.
The sounds they heard were the footsteps of the infected, and from time to time, the screeching noise of cars being pushed by them. At one point, a car on the mountain was shoved down the slope by a group of infected.
"Look at that, they're clearing the way."
Many people watching from afar were shocked by what the infected were doing.
"We have to get out of here."
"There are too many infected behind us. We need to move now. If they surround us, we won't be able to escape."
The soldiers were the only ones who didn't panic at the sight of the horde. They had seen worse in their fight to stop the virus from spreading through the city.
"Zz... Let's start moving. Don't shoot unless it's necessary."
"Zz... Understood."
On the road, Alan furrowed his brow as he looked at the infected along the roadside. He saw Stalkers running, ready to chase the convoy.
Even though their running posture was strange and their speed wasn't fast, they were definitely running.
"Ground traps will help slow down the infected. That's something to keep in mind," Alan muttered as he came to more realizations.