When he saw Jude keeping silent, the man paused, and coughed.
"Miss Elise, you're so frustrating. Are you really going to keep living like this? If we only start preparing after the signs appear, it'll be too late. We have to prepare in advance."
It seemed Jude was not the only one preparing for the end. He did not know whether the man had awakened or not, but looking at him, it did not seem so.
As Elise kept hesitating, the man pressed her.
"We can't wait for your answer any longer, Miss Elise. Even now, plenty of people are begging to join us. As you know, the more people there are, the more dangerous it gets. We're taking a risk by inviting you."
That much was right, since numbers did not guarantee survival. Monsters, zombies included, could instinctively search out the traces of living things, and the more people there were in a group, the higher the chance of being found. That was why, in the beta, Jude had been reluctant to gather more than six people in one group.
"Our leader says that at the beginning, hiding is the best answer," the man went on. "Get a blackout curtain, put it up, lock the door, and just live. It's that simple. And he's the only one who got through the first stage before it was made easier."
It was disastrous advice on many levels. The virus would spoil the food and the medicine, and those who shut themselves in would starve long before the zombies found them. The tattooed man kept trying to win Elise over with plausible information, and thanks to that, the hands that were making Jude's coffee kept stopping.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but please stop. Can't you see she's working?"
When Jude said that, the tattooed man's face twisted, and he stood up.
"Fine! I've said everything I wanted to anyway."
He went out murmuring in a low voice, "Let's see how long you last."
The joke was on him, since Jude would probably last far longer than he would. Besides, Jude had no intention of leaving alone the people who tried to harm him.
The man looked strange as he left. When he was about to bump into someone passing by, he panicked and pulled his hand back. Jude felt more and more suspicious.
Elise, on the other hand, was restless. In her state, it would be hard for her to focus on her work.
"Hurry up, please. I have a lot of work to do."
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."
She leaned forward and put the cup in front of him. And it smelled so good.
Back home, Jude thought back to the tattooed man's words. People who knew the end was coming were slowly gathering into groups, and they were already looking for the one who had stayed until the end.
He could understand to some extent why they were acting like that. They were probably anxious as the end slowly approached, and none of them knew who to trust. The thought that they had to survive on unverified information must have haunted them, driving them to make a fuss and blame someone else to ease their worry.
It was not really his business, so he hoped they would live well.
The other veterans seemed to be keeping quiet, just like him. They were probably busy preparing and waiting. Even without his long memory, they should be fine, since they had hundreds of hours of experience. In particular, they should know the first stage by heart, since they had died many times there. They must also have decided to act alone, knowing that gathering people was dangerous.
Holding on was the answer.
However, there was still something that could become a threat to him. The Lab knew exactly who every tester was. What if those people found him through it? He had no way of knowing. The Lab had no address, no office, and no face.
Putting the worry aside, Jude checked all the survival packs scattered around his room. With what he had now, he could survive for at least three days. As planned, he would run if men in black suits came knocking. Changing his address was no answer, since he still needed it for his packages to be delivered.
The tattooed man and his leader were preparing for the outbreak together, and they were trying to bring Elise into their group. Jude had to remember the two of them. But they would not last long. Their leader's tips were many, but not one of them was accurate enough to guarantee survival.
If Elise was caught by these men, it would go badly for her. The thought of a kind and pretty woman falling into their hands pained his heart for some reason.
It was not ideal, but if she asked him, he would tell her. It would be his payment to her for every cup of coffee and every bottle of milk. If she still ignored his advice, that would be the end of it.
Then he turned on the news. There was nothing. It seemed the government had not done anything yet, or perhaps it was dismissing all the strange crimes as coincidence. Most of the people in important positions were middle-aged or elderly, and it was clear they knew nothing about the beta or status windows. The police and the army went about their days as if nothing was coming.
It was not their responsibility, though. Those who were destined to live would live, and those who were destined to die would die. In this case, should he be glad that he had no family?
As he was thinking that, a message arrived from the manager of the building supply store he had visited earlier that day.
The things he had bought were about to be delivered, and the manager asked whether he could come now. He would have to work hard for a while.