After encountering the bandits and driving for another hour, a large building appeared to the right of the road.
The van driven by UMP45 slowly stopped. Lux stepped on the brake and jumped out of the pickup, approaching the van and knocking on the glass. UMP45 immediately rolled down the window.
"Lianne, Candice, and Sten, you three get out. These zombies in the granary are for you. Sten can't use a gun; the others watch. Each of you face one zombie; extra ones can be killed. There shouldn't be many zombies here."
No matter what, they needed to overcome their fear of zombies first.
The best way? Kill a few more of them. Humans fear zombies because they're hard to kill. If Candice cut down a dozen or so, she wouldn't be scared anymore.
The group got out. A zombie in a security uniform had already rushed out from the guardhouse, excitedly charging at the prepared "delivery"… even with all its sharp spikes.
"Who goes first?"
Lux asked calmly.
"I'll go!"
Unexpectedly, Candice—who had been so scared she'd nearly wet herself yesterday—was the first to draw her Nepalese Kukri and charge straight at the zombie.
"Oh my, oh my, the little one's quite fierce."
MDR watched the scene in surprise. As Candice rushed forward, the zombie excitedly swiped a hand toward her shoulder.
Candice quickly sidestepped, dodging the zombie's blood-soaked claws. With a casual upward swing of the kukri in her right hand, she slashed viciously into the zombie's head. Its body stiffened instantly. As Candice yanked the kukri free, the zombie collapsed heavily onto the ground.
She wiped the blood from the blade using the zombie's clothes and slowly walked back.
"W-what's wrong? Did I… do something wrong just now?"
Seeing everyone staring at her, Candice jumped in fright and asked in confusion.
"Well, you were so terrified last night that we thought you'd probably cry again."
Lux spoke up to explain.
"Even if I cried, it wouldn't change anything. They'd still want to eat me. So I cried all my tears out last night. I won't cry anymore."
Candice shook her head.
"That's a good mindset. Keep it up and you'll live longer."
Lux nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, let me try. But Brother Lux, can you let me use that compound bow? I learned a bit of archery back when I joined an archery club. Compared to close combat, I'd rather take out zombies from a distance."
Lianne asked.
"If you know how to use it, then give it a try. But you'd better work on your courage too. If something sudden happens and a zombie gets close, it'll be too late to use a bow."
Lux wasn't stingy. With a wave of his hand, he took the compound bow and quiver out of the system storage and handed them to Lianne, offering a reminder.
He already had two crossbows now. A compound bow required some skill anyway. Since Lianne was confident, he might as well let her use it.
And in the future, they might be able to quietly deal with zombies at range thanks to her.
"Hehehe, as long as we don't mess up reconnaissance, we can avoid most zombies."
Lianne grinned as she accepted the bow.
"It looks like there was only one guard at the security office. Go in and show me you can protect yourself."
Lianne walked up to the gate and kicked the iron door hard. A loud clang echoed out. She quickly retreated a few steps, drew the bow, and aimed at the passage beyond the door.
A hoarse roar rang out as a man in work clothes rushed toward the sound.
Lianne swiftly pulled the bowstring. The arrow shot forward and nailed itself squarely into the zombie's forehead, sending it toppling backward.
"Hehehe, one kill. Let's see if any more zombies come out."
She smiled confidently and drew another arrow.
Five minutes later, after confirming no more zombies had been attracted, Lianne walked over to the corpse, pulled out the bloodstained arrow, and entered the grain depot courtyard.
Lux followed quickly. It wasn't easy to come across someone so sharp and capable—he didn't want anything to go wrong.
"The rest are probably inside the inner buildings. Let's go take a look."
Along the way, Lianne deliberately made loud noises from time to time, then used the compound bow to take down four more zombies in succession.
"This method is safer in a remote place like this, but don't try it in the city."
Lux reminded her.
"Of course. Doing that in the city would be suicide. Don't worry, I want to live more than anyone. In the city, I'll take down zombies quietly."
Lianne spoke while pulling out another arrow.
"By the way, you're being way too modest. You call this 'learning a bit'?"
Her archery was actually excellent. The farthest zombie she'd lured out earlier had to be nearly a hundred meters away, yet she still hit it in the head. Lux knew he couldn't manage that himself.
"Hehe, I'm kind of a genius. I learn fast. Once I get the hang of it, it's like this. But my arms are a bit sore. Can I rest for a bit?"
Lianne replied with a smile.
"Sure. You've proven you can protect yourself. Next, Sten, you should kill a few zombies too. Only by overcoming your fear can you better protect yourself."
"Ah, as long as it's not a whole horde chasing me… If the weapon's lethal enough, I won't be too scared one-on-one. Probably…"
Sten MKII recalled the scene from her first day, when a huge group of zombies had chased her, and she shuddered before drawing her Kukri.
"Why add 'probably'?"
"Um… I guess I'm still a bit scared."
"I was scared my first time killing zombies too. After a few more, it won't matter. I believe you can do it."
Lux smiled encouragingly.
"Yes! Sten MKII! Annihilation begins!"
Sten moved past Lianne to the front of the team, making noise to lure out a zombie just like Lianne had done.
But when the zombie was still five meters away, Sten suddenly threw the kukri aside, grabbed the submachine gun hanging on her chest, and pulled the trigger.
The zombie's head was instantly riddled with bullets.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Commander. I really am useless. I can't do it."
Sten screamed in terror.
The gunshots attracted more zombies, but as soon as they ran out of the building, Sten blew their heads apart with a few shots.