(9)Survival Test

At long last, the final night of the test fell on the examination grounds.

Unlike the previous nights, there was a strangely light mood among the gathered candidates. On one hand, there was no further need to survive for another whole day, so there was less of a motivation to rob others for their resources.

On the other hand, of course, hardly anyone had resources left to rob! Everyone who'd still had a few sips of water or a bit of food during the day had made a show of consuming them. They'd hoped this would make it obvious that they weren't a target for predators, and it seemed that their plans had worked. At this point, attacking others was more risky than it was rewarding—there was no way to tell if someone was hiding a weapon and just waiting to be attacked, after all.

Marlon was grateful that he no longer had an urgent need to re-open his wounds by attacking others. Like everyone else, he'd finished the last of his water, then left his bag open to make his resource poverty obvious. Now he just lay on his back in a corner of the testing zone, looking up at the shimmering stars. His breath puffed in front of him in the moonlight. 'Just one more test,' he thought to himself. 'Then it'll all be worth it. Everything I've worked for will come to me.'

There was a sound of footsteps nearby. Marlon sat up immediately, wincing in pain at his wounds. He laughed when he saw it was William approaching. "You coming to get some revenge?" he asked. "I might be hurt, but 'm not gonna be knocked out by a greenhorn like you."

William's voice was surprisingly confident as he replied, "Don't worry. I've already got everything I need."

Marlon squinted in the darkness, trying to see if William was hiding anything, like a weapon. But the smaller candidate's arms hung loosely at his sides and his clothes didn't seem to be bulging anywhere that might betray the presence of a stolen knife or gun. "So tell me something," Marlon said at last. "How does a guy as fragile as you survive two hard-ass tests when much tougher guys have already failed out?"

William smiled triumphantly. "It's simple. One word: adaptability. In nature, it's not the strongest who survive, but those who adapt the most quickly! Your brains are often more important than your muscles. And that's where I've got most people beat."

A new voice said from nearby, "Just look at yourself, Marlon. It's good proof that William's telling the truth."

The two young men turned and saw Alexandre approaching them. To their surprise, his skin was covered in a grid of dark lines.

"Shit," Marlon said. "You two have nothing better to do than annoy me tonight? Fuck's sake. You're gonna make me get up and beat the shit out of you both just to have something to do."

Alexandre smiled and replied, "Yes, because that worked out so well for you last time."

Marlon laughed and flipped off Alexandre. "Go fuck yourself! I didn't expect you'd be so strong you were able to take on that Rank C tester guy."

Alexandre replied, "It wasn't a real fight. I just showed my claws. If we'd really been fighting, things would've gone very differently. You probably would've died as collateral damage, for one."

Marlon snorted. "Whatever. So, how come you're already infected with Virus Z?"

Alexandre didn't answer. After a moment, William broke the silence. "My dad's business associates know some interesting people. I've heard one of them say that there's a zombie black market. Doses of modified Virus Z are selling for millions apiece. But those must be very risky—I don't understand why anyone would be foolish enough to spend a fortune on an injection that's likely to kill you, all for the purpose of passing this test… especially since I've heard the modified dose only lasts a few months before you need to boost it with another shot."

Marlon frowned. "How the hell does that work? I thought to get into the Hunter Exam you have to be immune to Virus Z. It's some gene thing, right?"

William replied, "Yeah, Virus Z can't infect us, so we can't turn into zombies. But the modified virus is different and normal immunity doesn't affect it. Supposedly, it transforms you little by little, over a very long period of time. Supposedly, that's how Hunters actually get their powers, through injection of this virus."

Marlon was flabbergasted for a moment. Of course he'd known that Hunter powers were created from zombies, but he'd assumed it happened through some kind of special tech that you got surgically implanted into your body. Zombie Craft technology was so incredible that this had seemed to make perfect sense.

But now that William was describing a total transformation through infection with a modified virus… that seemed incredibly risky, but it was a risk Marlon knew the Hunters would gladly take. "So what happens when they inject us?" Marlon asked at last.

"Most people die in the first few minutes," said William. "Though if you're buying it on the black market, maybe you can spend millions more on a private medical facility that can keep you alive until the virus runs out. I promise you that they won't do the same for us here. Everyone knows that there's a huge casualty rate even among people who pass the Hunter Exam… I bet it's because of the modified virus's lethality."

William pointed at Alexandre. "So I really don't understand why someone would cheat and risk everything to get through the exam when we're all going to be injected anyway. Though, even if it's against the rules, I bet Omega would love it. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything to become a Hunter, after all."

Marlon nodded and turned to Alexandre. "So that's your secret. You weren't better than me at all. You're just another richshit who bought some super-steroids. Well, when they inject me, we'll be even! Then I'll get my revenge."

Alexandre's smile widened. "With or without power, I'll kick your black ass any time, anywhere."

Marlon and William burst out laughing.

The three young men continued talking for hours before falling asleep after midnight. In this way, the Hunter Exam's second trial finally came to an end.