My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 88: Where the Infected Sleep

Morning came.

The others gathered near the entrance as Jaxon and Natasha finished preparing. They carried only what they needed. Their guns, small knives at their waists, and a twenty-liter fuel can strapped to Jaxon’s backpack, siphoned from broken vehicles nearby. Before leaving, they coated themselves in a thick, crusty paste of black blood, masking their scent the usual way.

"You still haven’t healed completely, and you’re heading out again," Cindy said, looking at Jaxon.

"Maybe he has a thing for those infected," Elena said with a chuckle.

Jaxon gave Cindy a wry smile but said nothing.

Unlike Elena, the rest of the group watched them with clear worry. No one tried to stop them, but the tension hung thick in the air.

"This won’t take long," Jaxon said. "We’ll be back as soon as we can."

Natasha nodded beside him. With that, the two of them turned and headed out.

After the door closed, Elena clapped her hands once. "Alright. Training continues."

She looked around at the group, who were still staring at the door. "We have one more day before the train arrives. Remember what I told you. A slow survivor is a dead survivor. So move it."

Groans filled the room as everyone dragged themselves back to their tasks.

Elena lingered for a moment, glancing once more at the door Jaxon and Natasha had left through. Then she turned away and followed the others inside.

......

Meanwhile, Natasha and Jaxon moved quietly through the empty streets.

"Natasha, stick close to me, alright?" Jaxon whispered.

"I know. Just keep moving," she whispered back, eyes scanning the shadows.

The place they planned to set up the fireworks was west of their base, atop the watchtower of the old prison complex. From their base, Jaxon had a clear line of sight. It was far, but just within his range if he pushed himself.

The streets were eerily quiet. Far quieter than they had expected.

"Wait... stop," Jaxon hissed, pressing his back against a wall and peeking around the corner. "Look there."

Natasha followed his gaze, and her eyes widened. Hundreds of infected stood in the streets, frozen in place as if hibernating.

"Killing them might wake them up. Let’s go around," Jaxon whispered. Natasha nodded, and they moved down a parallel street, careful not to make a sound.

As they advanced, Jaxon frowned. The frozen streets weren’t the only problem. Thin, pale strands of flesh stretched across the buildings and roads like webs, covering everything in sight. And a harsh, rotting stench filled the air.

"What is this? It smells... awful," Natasha whispered, pressing a hand to her nose.

"I saw something like this at the building where I fought the mutated infected," Jaxon murmured grimly. "It’s like... their nest. And now it’s spreading. The whole city... they’re turning it into their nest."

Natasha shivered. "We need to move. Now."

Jaxon nodded. They pressed on, careful with every step, knowing that one wrong move could awaken the horde around them.

Suddenly, a hoarse, guttural howl cut through the silence.

"Get down." Jaxon pulled Natasha behind a broken car just in time.

From the shadows of a corner, a bald infected emerged, sniffing the air.

"Natasha... can you hit it from here?" Jaxon whispered, nodding toward the creature.

Natasha peeked around the car. The target wasn’t far, as she gave him a slight nod.

"Go ahead," Jaxon murmured, raising his rifle in case she missed.

The shot came silently as her bullet tore through the infected’s head without a sound.

Natasha stared at her pistol in awe. "It... it’s so much stronger now."

Jaxon smiled faintly. "Did you get a notification from the system?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She shook her head.

"What about the effects... can you feel anything?" he asked.

"I don’t know," she admitted.

Jaxon thought back to the exclusive skill of the pistol, Rapid Fire. Every time Natasha fired, an extra bullet followed almost instantly, like a second shot trailing the first. The skill was working for her, so the stat increase must be happening, even without a notification.

"Good," he said quietly, slipping back into cover. "Let’s keep moving."

The two of them moved quietly, sticking to the shadows. Whenever an infected wandered too close, Jaxon would signal, and Natasha would take the shot, each kill clean and quiet.

To their surprise, they reached the edge of the prison complex with far less trouble than they had expected.

Natasha frowned as she looked around. "This feels strange. The infected were active the past few days, even last night. Now they’re just... standing still."

Jaxon nodded. "I know. But we stick to the plan, we set up the fireworks as backup. It might save us later."

The main gate of the prison complex stood half open. They slipped inside and began climbing the watchtower step by step, careful not to make noise. The metal stairs creaked faintly under their boots, but nothing stirred below.

When they reached the top, Jaxon lay flat and looked through his scope. Their base was visible in the distance, small but clear.

"From here," he said quietly, "I can make the shot."

Natasha glanced around the tower. "Alright. Let’s get the fireworks next."

"No need." With a few quick movements, Jaxon purchased the fireworks packs from his system store.

(100 coins spent. Fireworks Pack successfully purchased.) x10

They stacked the fireworks near the base of the tower, spacing them carefully so they wouldn’t all go off at once. Jaxon unscrewed the fuel can and slowly poured gasoline over the setup, letting it soak the ground and the wooden crates nearby.

Natasha crouched beside him, securing the fireworks and tying fuses together. She kept everything low, hidden from the streets below, careful not to attract attention.

Jaxon squatted back and double‑checked the trajectory. The explosion needed to be visible enough to draw the infected’s attention, but far enough from the route they would take. Satisfied, he scanned his system store for the High‑Explosive Incendiary rounds. One shot would be enough to ignite the fuel and set off the fireworks they had prepared.