Latif City 

<Author's note: The things (racism, sexism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>

The sun was still up. And compared to a few hours ago, it got even hotter.

Although Nathan's watch was based on Womania's timezone, if he were to count the time difference, it would be around 1:30 pm already.

There was a billboard on the side with a picture of some brown-skinned Asian guy around the age of 40 smiling and surrounded by some ads with two captions.

One was written in Muwinian: Mwelcome Mto Latif Mcity!

And the other was in Regisian: Welcome To Latif City!

Looking at the smiling man, Nathan scoffed.

Upon entering the city, it was a total mess.

On the streets alone, there were many abandoned and broken vehicles, trash and corpses -- both humans and zombies.

Meanwhile, on the side, it was nothing but broken down buildings and looted shops.

"Kid, wear your thermal vision goggles."

She didn't answer.

He stopped and turned to her.

When he saw her, she was still walking but covered in sweat, her skin red from the sun's rays and looked like she was in a daze.

"Kid."

She didn't respond.

"Hey, kid."

Zita finally stopped and turned to him.

"Mister?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, mister."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Don't forget to keep yourself hydrated."

"Yes, mister."

"Now."

"Yes, mister," she said and summoned out a bottle of water from her [Grade D] Spatial Bag and took a couple of sips.

Gulp…

Gulp…

After she put the bottle away, Nathan said, "Put on your thermal vision goggles. Your INT is higher than mine so you'll be the scout."

"Okay," she took out her thermal vision goggles and wore them.

They resumed walking.

'Now where should I go first?'

'Is there a Government Shelter here?'

As far as Nathan can remember, Latif City never really experienced that many major disasters.

Sure, there were the occasional typhoons, flooding, landslides, and volcanic eruptions which is typical in brown-skinned Asian countries and weak earthquakes partnered with weak tsunamis.

However, as far as he could remember, here in Latif City, it never came to the point where people would have to go to evacuation centers.

He scrambled his thoughts.

'If I were to make a bet, the possible locations could be the public schools and the sports center stadiums...'

'And if were to based it on movies, especially with alien and zombie movies, the go-to sites would be malls and prisons...'

'The neighborhood where I grew up is near the heart of the city and there's two large public schools nearby: Latif High School and Latif State University Campus 1...'

'There's also the city's sports center stadium, Brown Sports Complex...'

He stared at the abandoned and broken motorcycles.

'It would be nice if I could ride one but I don't think it can support my weight.'

Although Nathan doesn't know how to drive a car, a motorcycle is a different thing. However, his skill level in driving a motorcycle was the same as his skill level in piloting a helicopter.

'What the fuck am I thinking? Riding a motorcycle? Even that guy -- I can't remember his name, all I remember he was Rose's cousin -- got into an accident from riding a car.'

'God damn… This heat is killing me and making me not think straight. And what on earth happened? Just think morning when we first arrived here it was cloudy. But right after we had breakfast it started becoming nothing but blazing hot.'

'I think I should switch my set. But the bonus stats and special effects…'

'Ugh… Fuck me sideways.'

'Anyways, I'm going to check my home first because it's on the way to the two public schools. Or better yet, I hope I encounter some people so that I can ask for some information.'

***

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Nathan killed two zombies.

Zita, on the other hand, was pulling out the bolts from the heads of three zombies that she killed.

They were now in the street where Nathan's house was located.

'Although there's been some changes, the place still looks a bit familiar…' he thought as he swept his gaze at the buildings.

3 years ago, before he left, there were already some houses that were offering for tenants to rent.

However, this time around, the number increased. Some houses were even specifically renovated to be able to accept more tenants.

'Well, this neighborhood is close to the heart of the city and Latif State University is also nearby so it makes sense. But still… too many strangers… This, in turn, will lead to --'

Between the time of his exile here in Latif City and going to Womania, he lived around the country.

He had the luxury to do so because he was working online. And of course, to be able to afford such a lifestyle and save money at the same time, he lived in neighborhoods that were between lower-income middle class and slums. And because of this, whether he wanted it or not, he got to see and experience the good and bad sides of living in a brown-skinned Asian country like Muwin.

And one thing he noticed in living in to rent places was that…

'-- the lack of a strong sense of community.'

'If there wasn't a zombie apocalypse, I wouldn't be surprised if one day I came back here and I won't recognize 95% of the people here.'

He thought about the places he lived in Muwin before going to Womania.

He thought about the neighborhood he lived in Cram City at Womania.

'Well, what's the point of thinking about this? There's a zombie apocalypse.'

He continued walking.

He saw Vincent's house.

It was surrounded by high walls about 10ft tall with sharp glass shards on top and two red gates -- a small one and a big one. One can also still see the exterior of the second floor of the two-story house that was designed like a villa from the high walls.

He continued walking down a few more houses.

This time, he saw Karen's house.

It was also surrounded by walls about 6ft tall but the bottom half was cement and the other half was white grills with pointy edges so the exterior of the house was visible. One could even see the garden and a swing at the front.

The gates, a small and big one, were white grill gates. The small gate was open and between the gates, there was a signboard hanged that read: We Are Accepting Female Tenants. Please Inquire Inside.

The house itself was a one-story building that featured an average north Muwinian house.

The north Muwinian household design is a combination of Regisian, Xudonian, Muwinian-Trinitian architecture.

Meanwhile, in the south, it's a combination of Xudonian and Muwinian-Iklasian architecture.

And in the case of Latif City, technically, there is no central region in Muwin. Kulerga, where Latif City is located, is positioned between the northern and southern regions of Muwin.

Nathan resumed walking.

And just after two houses down the road, it was finally his house, or to be precise, his parents' house.

It was surrounded by walls about 6ft tall with sharp glass shards on top and had two green gates -- a small and big one.

Just like Karen's house, there was also a signboard that read: Accepting Female Tenants Only. Please Inquire Inside.

'Hmm... I wasn't expecting this. Isn't father still in the force and my mother selling beauty products? I'm also sending some money every month...'

'Well, I guess it's because it can be lonely...'

He went over to the small gate and tried pushing it.

Brrr…

'Hmm... not locked...'

'Maybe my parents were able to escape…?'

"Kid, this is my house," he said before pushing the gate even further and then entering.

In front of the house, there was a garden of vegetables on the left side and a mango tree on the right side.

There was also a pot of plants on the way to the front door.

Meanwhile, the house itself was a one-story building and its design was an average north Muwinian house.

He looked at the side and thought, 'My father's motorcycle isn't here…'

The front door and the windows were closed.

He went to the front door and grabbed the doorknob.

Ku-chud!

It was locked.

"Mother? Father? Anyone here?"

Thud!

It sounded like someone or something behind him was dropped.

When he turned around to see what it was, he saw Zita lying on the ground.

He rushed over and held her in his arms.

Pat.

Pat.

"Kid," he said as he patted her cheeks.

She was unconscious.

On top of that, she was cold as ice and sweating like buckets that her clothes were so wet.

"Kid."

Pat.

Pat.

She didn't answer.

He carried her to the front door and kicked it open.

Bam!

Inside, the first part of the house was the living room.

He didn't bother removing his shoes as he stepped inside and he headed straight to the sofas.

He let Zita lie down at the largest sofas and then patted her cheek once again.

Pat.

Pat.

"Kid."

She still wasn't responding.

'Her skin is red from the sun…'

'She's so cold…'

'But clothes are wet from perspiration...'

'Perhaps she was bitten?'

He tried to check if she had any bite marks.

'I can't find any…'

'No… even if she healed her wounds with the System Potions, she can't be infected because it takes about an hour for a person infected by the zombie virus to turn into a zombie. And most importantly, she should be burning with a fever, not freezing.'

Thanks to the "experiments" he did at the first few days of the zombie apocalypse back at Womania, he definitely knew what the symptoms are.

'What am I supposed to do? I've already brought her this far and this is her performance? Everyone has the System and isn't she supposed to be a Chosen One? So her base VIT should be high. It's one problem after another with this kid…'

Images of what he did back in Corn Town flashed inside his head.

He closed his eyes shook his head.

'Fuck! Get out of my head!'

He opened his eyes.

'I need to think of something…'

He stared at her face and noticed something.

'Hmm… I wasn't able to notice before because her skin was red from the sun's rays but her lips look a little pale…'

'Could it be…?'

'I mean, yeah, she lost a lot of blood from that training I did to her and the Healing Potions can't replenish the blood that was lost. Also, it's her first time here in Muwin and she's white so she's most likely not used to the climate here. But to counter those two things, I made sure to feed her and always kept her hydrated…

'Maybe she's just helplessly useless?'

Unfortunately, if Nathan had at least even just half a brain, he would quickly realize that despite the fact that the System allows humans to reach superhuman feats, by the end of the day, Zita was still a child. She doesn't have the kind of mental fortitude that adults have.

'Hmm… I have some tablets here for fever but I don't know how to forcefully feed it to an unconscious person. And given that she's still a kid, she might choke or something…'

He massaged his forehead.

'Ugh… This is giving me a headache… Think… Think… Thi--'

He stopped massaging his forehead.

'The potions!'

He summoned a [Small] Healing Potion and then slid his hand behind her head and lifted it as he poured the potion into her mouth.

"Kid, wake up and drink this."

After she had a few sips of the potion, some of the redness of her skin dissipated but her body was still cold. She was also still sweating and her lips remained a little pale.

However, she managed to open her eyes just a little and mumbled weakly, "Smamak…?"

Nathan squinted his eyes.

"Drink more, kid,"

He let her finish the rest of the potion.

It was the same -- it only helped in reducing the redness of her skin. Meanwhile, the coldness of her skin, the sweating and her somewhat pale lips remained.

'It seems the healing potion isn't working that much....'

'It is for curing wounds after all, not fever or sickness...'

He summoned another potion.

This time it was the [Antidote].

"Drink this, kid," he said as he let her drink it.

Her coldness and sweating stopped, but the color of her lips remained the same.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the unfamiliar environment, she was confused.

"How are you feeling, kid?"

She turned at Nathan and said, "Mister?"

"You collapsed, kid."

Hearing what he said, she immediately tried to sit up and said, "I'm fine, mister. And I'm sorry I --"

Nathan helped her sit down but cut her off, "Don't worry. It's okay, it's okay. You have nothing to apologize for. Rest here for a while. You don't have to force yourself. But first, you have to change. Your clothes are so wet."

*********************************************

Author's thoughts:

Hello, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!

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