Concerns

"Thank you again for the help, sir. I hope you have a good night, and that was truly an incredible story." Dominic offered a soda to the man who had brought him home and helped him unload all the things he had bought.

Indeed, there were many boxes, not just of packaged food but also canned goods. Dominic was a simple man, so he made sure to buy food for months since both he and his father tended to be lazy.

Just as he was about to close the door, a man in a suit appeared in front of Dominic's house, and after a few long steps, he said, "Sorry for being late, Mr. Dominic; the traffic is horrendous in the city."

Dominic looked at his father's lawyer and nodded. "It must have been tough getting here; we live in a gated community, so I guess arriving after a workday is sometimes tedious."

Mr. Anderson looked at Dominic with a somewhat serious expression and said, "There's something important to discuss. Have you checked the file your father sent you about 23 hours ago?"

Dominic shook his head as he entered his house, letting Anderson in. After entering, he walked to the kitchen for a bottle of water, which he then handed to Mr. Anderson and asked, "Do you know anything about what's on my computer?"

"Information... very useful information that could change our lives for the better in the future—not now, but in a few weeks, we might face an unprecedented catastrophe." Anderson adjusted his glasses and said in a cold tone, "Mr. Dominic, your father Sergei sent me a final message saying not to expect his return. I don't want to think about it, but it was his message, and due to the last instructions he gave me for you, I will send you a series of containers with some of the things that will be most difficult for you to find in the coming days due to your age and experience."

Dominic furrowed his brow and asked somewhat confusedly, "Wait, wait, wait, you're going too fast. What do you mean by all this information? Is my father in trouble?"

"I don't know, Mr. Dominic, but what I do know is what I've done in the last eight hours, and it's possibly something that will keep you alive for about ten years." Anderson walked towards the door and said, "It's all in that file; you'll understand when you review it. You need to prepare yourself, Mr. Dominic; the end of the world is near."

Dominic wanted to do something, but clearly, he couldn't just hit his father's lawyer to get all the information. Much less this man, who had been very close to his family since childhood, so he immediately, with an idea in mind, ran to his room on the second floor and opened his computer.

"Don't tell me you're dead, stupid father!"

As his heart pounded hard, Dominic opened the file, and folders of codes appeared on his computer, with hundreds of thousands of files containing strange information.

Physiological Symptoms of Bearers with the Anger Virus: The anger virus causes bearers to experience almost constant spasms in their limbs; their iris enlarges and subsequently turns red. They also bleed regularly, if not constantly, from body orifices like the eyes, nose, mouth, and hair follicles. In extreme cases, they vomit large amounts of infectious blood due to internal capillary hemorrhaging.

"What are these images?" Dominic's hand trembled as he saw images of what appeared to be human patients bleeding from many holes in their bodies. His stunned gaze at what he was seeing shifted to the information narrated below.

"While bearers eventually die of starvation, they seem to be able to last longer than non-bearers without nutrition, as they lasted up to four weeks after the subjects died."

Dominic then looked at images and videos of the information that was only in this folder, then he moved to another section labeled 'warning to consider.' This explained how the virus, initially a weapon to destroy other viruses, began to mutate and create different types of viruses with completely different pathogens.

These virus bearers, whether mutated or not, apparently retain basic intelligence to solve problems. It is known that they instantly ignore the non-infected they are attacking or pursuing if they die abruptly before the bearers can infect them.

"Test number 534... It has been shown that when an uninfected individual is nearby, a bearer becomes enraged and tries to infect or kill the uninfected. However, those bearers of the anger virus will also ignore each other, attacking only those who are not bearers and do not show symptoms of infection.

"The infected use their sense of smell to find the uninfected and distinguish other bearers from the uninfected, and small amounts of products like perfume or soap will attract the infected to the source of their targets. I speculate that infection occurs like other diseases, and I'm almost certain this virus enhances hearing and smell senses."

Dominic sat on the couch, leaving the laptop on the table in the middle of the room. Unconsciously, his body was drenched in cold sweat, and he was absolutely sure that this was not some kind of joke or ridiculous virus.

"Father, how am I supposed to understand this information?" Dominic wondered as he walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cold water bottle.

He wasn't foolish; he knew his father worked on something more than simple business trips, as he told his aunt. In this regard, Dominic once confronted his father and asked if he had really quit his job as a mercenary.

His response was simple: I'll never be in danger, so you should know there's nothing to worry about.

"I told you that job would end up consuming more than just your pain, father." Dominic was about to review other files when he saw a video outside all the folders, and the title simply said, 'Dominic...'

"Oh..." Dominic took a deep breath and felt his breathing start to quicken, just like his heartbeats.

When he started the video, he saw his father, covered in blood with sounds of gunfire in the background, listening as he spoke. His father's face could only be described as haggard; his father, who had always been strong, looked vulnerable in the video.

"Dear son, I know these words may sound bewildering to you, and that's why I want you to know how much I love you and how much your safety matters to me. What I'm about to tell you is of the utmost importance, and I ask that you listen carefully and follow my instructions to the letter."

"What you will find in the files I've left for you is real, and what's at stake is more than just a simple virus. You must understand that we are facing a critical situation, a threat that only a few fully comprehend. What those who did this plan did is a global attack, something that will erupt worldwide simultaneously."

"The first thing you must do is gather supplies—many supplies—and take them to the basement of our house. Spend all the cash we have if necessary, and make sure the shelter is well stocked. Do not skimp on resources or effort, because the survival of those you choose to take with you depends on this."

"I ask that you protect the house and keep the shelter in the best possible condition. I don't know when or how it will happen, but I know something will happen that will make everything spiral out of control. When that happens, you must be prepared."

"You have to take care of yourself, son, and take care of those with you. Within less time than you think, I'll be back home, and we'll be okay. I won't rest until I return to you and take charge of your safety, and that's what matters most to me."

"I know this may be difficult to understand right now, but trust me and follow these instructions. Don't worry about me; I'm doing what I know I must do to protect you and those we love."

"I love you deeply, and although I can't tell you exactly when I'll return, I want you to know that I'll be with you in spirit and that we'll be together again soon. Stay strong, my son, and prepare for what's to come."

Dominic fell silent, his hands clenched tightly, and all he could curse was, "Sergei, you damned old man, make sure you survive first and don't give me false hope!"

All those memories of zombie series or movies came flooding back to Dominic's mind; he imagined all the hardship he had experienced when the pandemic started in his previous life, and he knew perfectly well that from now on, he needed to prepare. Not only physically but also mentally, as this wouldn't end in a few years.

But at that moment, just as he was about to get to work, he remembered Travis Manawa and Madison Clark.

"This can't be possible." Dominic held his head due to the intense pain he was feeling right now from the strong impression that filled his chest.

He shouldn't be here; those things shouldn't exist now, much less in the future. Dominic wanted to deny it, but he recognized Madison and her partner, who was Travis; things had aligned in such a perfect way that he could only believe.

So, if he's in a world that will be filled with walkers to the point of world order destruction, he needs to develop a plan so meticulously that he has no choice but to try to do something for himself and rescue his father.

Dominic remembered he had a friend named Tobias; he had been talking to him a few days ago about the things appearing on the internet and how this could escalate to worse.

Dominic knew he would need his friend's help later, but first, he needed to move alone and act fast. As far as he understood, there wasn't even a year's worth of preparations; that was the main reason for concern.

"If I succeed, I'll be able to live in peace for the next fifty years; if I don't, I'll die before that." Dominic knew his life as he knew it had undergone a great change; now there weren't many more things to worry about than the lives of himself and his loved ones.

Knowing what would happen in the coming months, Dominic knew how to prepare and seize each of the opportunities that came to mind.

In an apocalyptic world, just when he thought this was his reward life for all the bad that happened to him in his previous life, all these things happen. Truth be told, this time Dominic wouldn't stop fighting, no matter what happened.

At least here, he can defend himself.