It was different from what she expected. Misha thought that she would see dead bodies on the streets but it was the opposite. It was almost empty except for a few severed limbs scattered around the area, along with splatters of blood. It was gruesome to look at but other than that, there was nothing else.

The sight of a stray leg was nothing enough to unsettle her. Her stomach wouldn’t turn, not with her medical background.

"Where is everyone?" She mumbled to herself.

No monster was in sight, it was eerily peaceful. Was it over?

No, she shouldn’t lower her guard. It was obvious that people were attacked last night since she heard the screams and the growls.

"I have to go to my brothers."

The tower was close by. If she could just enter through the gates, maybe she would find them there.

Misha silently made her way towards the tower. She would look around her from time to time, making sure no monsters were nearby.

Could she really be the last remaining survivor?

Maybe the monsters left after running out of prey?

She shook her head, refusing to dwell on it. There was no time for that.

Fifteen minutes later, she finally reached the foot of the tower.

She walked around it in search of the entrance, but she found none. There were no gates, no doors.

"Shit."

How was she supposed to go inside then?

She raised her gaze. The closest window was more than a thousand meters away.

"Grrraah..."

Misha snapped her head towards the direction of the low growl and there she found a man slowly walking towards her.

Yes, it was a human. But... his movements were slow and unsteady. He was drenched with blood, and his right arm looked like it had been eaten away. It was disgusting to see.

"A zombie...?"

"Hrrrnnn..."

She swallowed hard. Her pulse hammered in her ear. When the zombie was finally an arm’s length from her, in a swift motion, Misha raised the knife and stabbed his head. The creature dropped dead instantly.

"Haah... haa..." She panted loudly while her eyes remained fixated on the body. Her heart was still racing, but not from panic. It was mostly from surprise. Then, the corner of her mouth twitched upward as a nervous laugh escaped her. "Bastard..."

A small smirk tugged the side of her lips. "I was born ready for this."

That was right. She may have been taken aback at first when she saw the zombie, but that was all there was to it. A zombie apocalypse was exactly the kind of thing she knew she would survive. One of her hobbies was practically joining zombie-themed obstacles and fun runs.

Back then, Caleb would only comment that she was just wasting her energy, but she would always retort with: "A zombie apocalypse has more chances of becoming real than gettign sucked into a game or novel."

Misha bit her lower lip when she recalled that distant memory of her brother.

Low snarls were heard once more, not far from her.

She turned to the right and saw another zombie, this time a female, inside a bakery.

Since it didn’t seem to notice her, Misha decided to leave. There was no point in staying there when it seemed like zombies could gather there.

"I need to find others..." If she were going to climb the tower, then she needed help.

≈≈≈

A week has passed, and yet, Misha found no one else alive. She managed to survive, evading zombies at the first sight of them.

The days became a routine for her. Scavenge, avoid zombies, and then hide again before sunset because once night arrived, the monster bats emerged. They came out every single night like clockwork.

Misha hated them. They were hovering around the area as if making sure they didn’t leave anyone alive.

Perhaps she would have better luck finding other survivors elsewhere. Any sane person would have fled from the tower and put as much distance between themselves and it as possible. Misha understood that. She would have done the same too... that was if her brothers were outside with her.

Running away would be safer but as long as there was even the slightest chance her brothers were still inside, she wouldn’t walk away. She was going to find her brothers even if she had to climb that tower herself.

Until now, Misha’s strategy had always been simple: stay hidden and survive the night.

Her seventh night was different though.

A few nights ago, she had accidentally discovered the monster bat’s hunting method. One of the creatures swooped down, captured a zombie with its claws, and carried it into the tower.

Misha initially assumed the creatures were hunting the zombies. Then she noticed something odd. None of them were eating the zombies but instead, they were gathering them and bringing them back to the tower.

Every single monster bat went there, there were no exceptions. It was almost as if they had been given the same order. She couldn’t be certain, but the pieces seemed to fit together.

Some of the survivors of the first night’s attack that were either scratched or bitten by those creatures probably turned into zombies.

Maybe that’s why they keep coming back?

The creatures weren’t simply killing people but they actually were creating more undead.

Misha managed to find some cardboard, so she wrapped them up around her arms to protect herself from getting scratched. From the top of the roof, she waited for the monster bats to emerge from the tower. When she finally saw a shadow jump out, she threw her hands in the air and waved.

"Over here! I’m here!!" She shouted.

Was she finally giving up?

No.... she was far from that.

Because of the noise she made, the monster bat noticed her, so it started flying towards her.

Seeing that, Misha readied herself. She wore a helmet and wrapped a thick comforter around her body.

It was a ridiculous sight, but survival mattered more than appearance.

As the monster drew near, she swallowed hard. The closer it got, the more enormous it appeared, causing fear to crawl into her body.

"Don’t run away. Don’t run away, Misha." She told herself as she shut her eyes tight.

Swoosh!

Before she could even move, the creature had already grabbed her. The grip was tight and the pressure was strong, though the comforter kept her from suffocating.

She slowly opened her eyes as she felt the cool air against her face. Then, as her gaze drifted below, she saw the aftermath of the massive earthquake that the tower had caused. Some buildings were reduced to rubbles and the grounds split open. She could even see some zombies roaming freely.

She turned her gaze towards the entrance that the bat came from. Finally, she was going to see her brothers.

Ding!

「 You are invited to climb the Tower.

Accept | Decline 」

Misha wanted to rub her eyes but couldn’t do so. She stared at the gray window in shock. She never thought she would be seeing it once again.

「 If left unselected, it will result in automatic acceptance. 」

「 Countdown: 10 seconds 」

「 Countdown: 9 seconds 」

"I-I accept! I accept the invitation!" She hurriedly shouted.

「 Thank you for accepting the Tower’s invitation! 」

「 Initializing Summoning Protocol... 」

「 〔!ERROR!〕

SUMMONING DENIED!!! 」

The window turned red.

Misha’s heart almost stopped when she saw the words on the window.

Summoning denied? What does that even mean?

「 Reinitializing Summoning Protocol... 」

「 〔!ERROR!〕

SUMMONING DENIED!!! 」

The window started glitching between red and gray. Misha could only watch in confusion as the monster bat flew inside the tower.

「 〔!ERROR!〕

THE TOWER DOES NOT CONSENT!!! 」

「 〔!ERROR!〕

SUMMONING DENIED!!! 」

「 Overwriting Protocol... 」

「 System Overwrite Successful! 」

「 Summoning begins... 」