Chapter 318 - Chapter 34, Episode 9: Novatopia
Chapter 318 – Chapter 34, Episode 9: Novatopia
Red light illuminated from Black Mamba’s eyes.
Hm!
Mohammad hurriedly turned his gaze away. His master’s eyes were scary, unlike what he usually saw. His master, no, the apostle, had a clear vision of what was right and wrong. He had a strong belief that humans were equal and noble existences. He also hated titles such as “apostle” and “master.”
He could guess why he was mad. The chimera, a mix of human and animal, was the reason why. It was an evil, a sin, that he, someone who believed in God, couldn’t forgive. Mohammad carefully opened his mouth.
“Although I regret to say this, I think the monsters’ remains should be left alone. The monsters melted because of an unknown cause. This proves that they’re an unstable prototype. If we leave the remains alone, the creator will think the monsters self-exploded or died due to an unknown reaction. However, if we take care of their remains, their creator will search the entire lake for their remains. Although we don’t need to fear them, it’ll get frustrating.”
“Hm, I didn’t think about that. If those b*stards wander around, there will be a delay in Novatopia’s land survey and groundwater development,” Black Mamba openly acknowledged.
He was no longer the rookie who was sent to the Sahel. While it hadn’t been long, he was now a veteran who had fought several life-or-death battles. He had to return to Korea. Nothing good came from the CIA learning about Novatopia.
“That’s it. Unnecessary conflicts won’t help. We need to do our job. I’ll erase all traces of the battle.”
“Pretend as though nothing has happened? That’s good. Let’s erase the traces, then move to Lake Yoa. I don’t see any zombies. There’s a high chance they moved to Ounianga Kébir to avoid the chimera.”
“The village might already be under attack. I’ll take care of it immediately so we can depart.”
Ahmad rushed his friends to erase traces of the battle and even the Jeep’s tire marks. Aishe even gathered the parabellum bullets that had fallen out of the monster’s body.
Of course, there was no need to. The Sahara’s wind could erase their traces in a day with the sand it brought along. It was the silence of the desert. Just like that, the Lake Teli monster battle witnessed by seven onlookers was silenced.
Ounianga Kébir was close to Lake Yoa. It was 38 kilometers in a direct line from Lake Teli to Lake Yoa. The region was a sedimentary desert with exposed bedrocks and was filled with playas all around. It was a stereotypical rocky desert with wadi developed between its layers.
A farmer wouldn’t even dare dream of farming on the rough terrain. They passed Lake Katam, Ouma, Béver, and Forodom during their bumpy journey. However, Professor Shernion couldn’t take any pictures of the four lakes since Black Mamba had rushed them.
Ahmad and Jamal observed Ounianga Kébir with their binoculars. Ounianga Kébir was quite a large village with more than 100 families. There were lines of houses made of mud and reeds. There was no one outside the village.
“Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa, I don’t see anyone.”
“Are we too late?”
Boom—
His dimensional sight swept across the village. Countless brain waves of people riddled with fear and pain were detected. There were three dark, damp, and evil auras—reminiscent of zombies.
“Those evil beings are in the village. Mohammad and Aishe, protect the professors. Drive right up to the village’s entrance.”
Vroom—
The thick tires pushed roughly against the sand and rocks. Black Mamba grabbed his kukri, and as fast as lightning, he rushed into the village before the Jeep pulled to a stop. Ahmad, Jamal, and Ibrahim followed behind him with their MP5s.
“Ahmad, the seventh house on the right. Jamal, the last house on the far right.”
Ahmad and Jamal ran as fast as they could. Black Mamba jumped into the house before him.
“Goddamn!”
He swung his kukri on the spot.
Whoosh—
A naked man who was about to attack a boy barely over the age of 10 moved back like a ghost. That wasn’t the movement of a human. Black Mamba followed it like a shadow.
Whoosh—
His kukri glided like an arrow. The zombie raised its arms to block the kukri.
The kukri was powerful enough to slice through metal. Its arms fell apart.
Keeegh—
The kukri swung once more. Its head floated in the air before it could stop screaming. Sticky black blood spurted out like fireworks. Black Mamba’s feet stretched like a whip.
Bang—
Bang—
Its head and body flew out the door. It was a spotless clean-up and a surprise attack that advanced as fast as a meteor.
Ibrahim clicked his tongue and covered the boy’s eyes. Even so, the blood of a couple on the floor and the blood of the zombie had already stained the walls and floor.
“Check on them.”
Ibrahim examined the couple with the holed chests and bitten necks for a pulse.
“Gone.” Ibrahim shook his head.
The couple, who seemed to be the child’s parents, had already died.
“Damn b*stards!” Black Mamba exclaimed through gritted teeth.
Those evil b*stards turned their own people into mere weapons. They were unforgivable b*stards.
“Carry the corpses out.”
Ibrahim dragged the corpses outside the house. The eyes of the boy, who was holding tightly onto a stick, were expressionless.
Bang—
Bang—
Bang—
Loud gunshots rang. It was Jamal’s Barrett. Although zombies had high resistance against small-caliber bullets, the Barrett was a 50-caliber gun. A shot was enough to eliminate a target. Continuous shots meant that Jamal couldn’t aim properly.
“Ibrahim, go support Jamal. These b*stards are surprisingly fast.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ibrahim shoved the swinging door aside and rushed out. For a moment, a blanket moved on its own before two young faces peeked out.
“Are they your siblings?”
The boy couldn’t understand the question but nodded his head anyway, roughly guessing the question’s intention.
“Damn, you’re a brave kid.”
Black Mamba patted the boy’s head. The young kid had fought the zombie in an attempt to protect his siblings. He couldn’t protect his mother but managed to keep his siblings safe. His heart sank.
“Aaah!”
The boy dropped the stick that he was holding onto and burst into tears. Was it relief from surviving the ordeal, or was it sadness from losing his parents? Black Mamba’s heart ached. How could the orphans survive in a land with scarce resources?
The Heavens had bestowed power unto him because there were uses for it. Absolute evil that couldn’t be tolerated existed in the world. He gritted his teeth hard. Although he couldn’t take care of every bad thing in the world, he was determined to protect those within his reach from evil.
Ahmad ran as though his tail was on fire. According to Barungo’s confession, the zombies were half immortal and served as combat weapons. It was a trivial matter for his master, but for ordinary people like himself, they were like grim reapers. His master had offered to help himself and the blindsided Vodou followers without a price. If it hadn’t been for his master, he would have turned into a handful of dust somewhere in the barren northern hills of Syria. Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa was an idol before an apostle, and the orders of an idol were ground commands.
“Agh!”
It was a desperate scream.
“Yop!” Ahmad jumped.
The roofs of the houses in Ounianga Kébir were made out of entwined reeds.
Crack—
Unable to withstand the impact, the weak reed roof collapsed.
Meeeh—
It was the cries of a startled animal.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Ahmad swung his sword horizontally and vertically.
Clang—
Something blocked his sword. The heavy pressure from his sword caused Ahmad to retreat.
It was dark inside the house because there were no windows. Ahmad leaned his back against the wall and raised his shamshir diagonally. Once his eyes got used to the darkness, he could see what was inside. Behind a middle-aged woman holding a metal rake were two children holding onto each other. Fortunately, nothing horrible had taken place.
There were two goats inside the house. The animal sounds he had heard when he jumped in was from the goats. Many families raised livestock inside their house in the Sahel. A man stood still before the goats. He was a black man who wore nothing but a strip of clothing to hide his lower body. He stood there blankly with a broken-necked goat by his left arm. His eyes were unfocused.
Ahmad was confused. He couldn’t feel any animosity. The opponent was simply blocking his attacks. He wondered whether the opponent was a zombie or a human.
“What are you?”
“I-don’t-know,” the man stuttered.
While his pronunciation was strange and he didn’t have any accent, it was clear that he spoke Arabic.
“Madam, do you know this man?”
“N…no. The ghost jumped into my house and killed the goat.”
“He didn’t threaten you?”
“I don’t know. It’s the devil.”
The woman’s voice was shaky. It truly was a mysterious matter. He heard that zombies killed humans instinctively.
“Oi, get out of here.”
“I-am-hungry.”
“God, you’re driving me mad. I’ll give you some meat if you get out of here.”
“I-already-have-meat.”
The zombie shook the goat in his hand. That meant he could recognize his surroundings. Ahmad grew more confused.
“Oi, that’s disgusting. I’ll give you good meat.”
“O-ka-ay.”
The man left the house willingly. His image was quite the spectacle outside in the bright daylight where everything was clearer. With hair running down to his waist, mustache covering his face, and eyes that seemed to flash like it was doused in water—it was obvious why the woman had mistaken him for a ghost.
Ahmad grew nervous after observing the man’s right wrist. There was a blade mark. The man had blocked his sword with his wrist. The shamshir, which had been passed down for generations, wasn’t some cheap blade. It was a rare ancient metallurgy sword. Still, the man’s wrist only suffered from torn skin after coming into contact with his sharp sword.
“Are you a zombie?”
“Hu-man.”
Ahmad grabbed the back of his neck. Zombies lacked awareness and were emotionless. All that remained of them was the will to live by surviving on flesh and blood. If that b*stard was a zombie, the woman would have already been torn to shreds.
“Ugh, whatever. My smart master should know what to do with him.”
“Follow me!”
The zombie trailed behind him.
“Hey, throw that away.”
The zombie held the goat in his arm even tighter.
“Damn b*stard, not following orders and doing something useless.”
Jamal appeared, dragging a corpse with him. Half of its head had been blown off, while the hole in its chest was large enough for his fist to enter. A 50-caliber Barrett could easily penetrate plated armors. The slight traces had to be from the parabellum bullets.
“Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa, I managed to kill everyone that’s hiding in the house. They were so fast. I would have been in trouble had Ibrahim not been there.”
“How unfortunate,” Black Mamba said in a collected manner.
Most of the villagers had been sacrificed. Still, they couldn’t do anything for the dead. He didn’t know why the zombies had suddenly gone mad. Zombies didn’t have emotions. It wasn’t as though their home was stolen by a chimera.
“Ahmad’s bringing someone over.”
“That’s not a human. That’s a zombie.”
“What?” Ibrahim was surprised.
Bringing a zombie over, what kind of unexpected situation was that?
“Ahmad, what happened?”
“He’s a slightly strange zombie, sir. He’s calm and listens to instructions very well. He also didn’t hurt any humans.”
“Today’s been a strange day. I’m barely wrapping my head around the fact the zombies exist, and now you’re saying there’s a zombie who listens and follows orders well?” Ibrahim complained.
Black Mamba’s gaze landed on the zombie’s left hand. Like a crow’s feet, his hand was black, and he only had three fingers. It was the zombie that Edel said she had met. Black Mamba felt a strange connection.
“Hey, come here.”
“You-are-scary.”
The zombie moved back. Zombies were similar to predators. It could instinctively distinguish the strong and the weak.
“I am your master,” a roar filled with resonance waves sounded.
The resonance waves stimulated the zombie’s spinal cord.
“Kuuuu…”
The zombie groaned as he wrapped his arms around his head. The interference was similar to the way electric eels suppressed their predator. Electric eels could paralyze their predator as long as there was direct contact or they remained within a one-meter range. The electricity released would stimulate the predator’s nerves and paralyze their muscles.
Black mamba understood a few principles behind the concept of resonance waves and dimensional sight. Depending on the interference, the waves could stimulate another person’s nerves and the synapses in their brain. The weaker the opponent’s will and the more negative their emotions were, the stronger the stimulation. Depending on the will in his waves, it could either paralyze them or communicate his intentions. That was something he had learned while fighting blacky. Talented Vodou priests also referred to those principles to control zombies.
Black Mamba had coincidentally learned a method to control zombies on his own.
“Come here!”
The zombie stumbled while making his way.
“Kneel!”
The zombie kneeled. The will in the brain waves could relay information regardless of language. Of course, ordinary humans with cognitive abilities and a will would be shocked by the speechless communication. That was because the brain, nervous system, and muscles were connected.
“Oh, God! It’s a miracle.”
“Allah is great! Even the zombie has submitted to the Mahdi. Bismillah!” Ibrahim and the rest couldn’t hide their wonder.
“Ibrahim, what day is it today?”
“It’s Saturday, sir.”
“Really? Then your name will be ‘Samedi’ since I met you on a Saturday.”
“Same-di?”
“Correct, you’re Samedi.”
It was the birth of Samedi, who would later become a close guard to Black Mamba and protect his back. Black Mamba grabbed Samedi’s head with both of his hands.
Boom—
His dimensional sight activated. The guy’s head was mushy. He didn’t understand how the man had survived.
Boom—
He shoved in his resonance waves. He pushed back the membrane that protected the cerebral cortex folds like he was cutting down objects.
“Kuuugh-”
Samedi struggled.