Chapter 16: G-1
Nearly a year had passed since the apocalypse began.
The city was no longer recognizable.
Nature slowly reclaimed abandoned roads.
Vines climbed the sides of skyscrapers.
Trees sprouted through cracked asphalt.
Animals wandered freely through districts once crowded with millions of people.
Yet beneath this peaceful appearance, a different civilization was quietly expanding.
One that never slept.
One that never argued.
One that never questioned its ruler.
The Hive.
***
Zealot stood on the rooftop of his apartment headquarters as the morning sun rose over the horizon.
Hundreds of his minions were already working.
Some maintained the farms.
Some patrolled the surrounding streets.
Others transported supplies between warehouses.
Farther away, scouting teams continued pushing the borders of his territory outward.
Everything functioned like clockwork.
Yet one problem continued bothering him.
Energy.
Although his minions no longer starved thanks to the steady supply of livestock and occasional meat gathered during operations, zombies naturally entered dormant states whenever their energy reserves became too low.
Even with regular feeding, they still instinctively conserved energy.
It wasn't a serious weakness anymore.
But it was still a weakness.
And weaknesses needed to be eliminated.
***
The answer arrived from the southern scouts.
One patrol had ventured into a botanical research district on the outskirts of the city.
The area contained abandoned greenhouses, agricultural laboratories and solar-powered irrigation systems.
Most buildings had collapsed.
Plants covered almost every structure.
The district appeared strangely peaceful.
Until the scouts noticed movement.
At first, the zombie appeared ordinary.
Its clothes had long since rotted away.
Its skin possessed an unusual dark-green tint.
Small patches of moss and vines grew naturally across its shoulders and arms.
More surprisingly...
The zombie wasn't hiding inside buildings.
It stood completely exposed beneath the afternoon sun.
Motionless.
Its face tilted upward toward the sky.
Almost as though...
It was basking.
***
Hours passed.
The zombie never moved.
It simply remained beneath the sunlight.
Normally this would have indicated dormancy.
Yet something seemed different.
The surrounding zombies gradually became weaker as the day continued.
Several even collapsed into their usual energy-conserving state.
The strange zombie did not.
Instead...
It became more active.
When evening approached, it suddenly sprang into motion.
Its speed exceeded that of ordinary infected.
Its strength also appeared slightly greater.
The scout observed another unusual detail.
Despite having no visible food source for weeks, the zombie showed no signs of weakening.
Zealot's eyes narrowed.
"Interesting..."
***
The specimen was captured two days later.
Compared to the predator, subduing it proved almost effortless.
It showed little aggression.
Little resistance.
Instead, it seemed strangely calm.
Once restrained, Zealot immediately began studying it.
Its biological structure revealed another hidden mutation.
Unlike previous strains, this one possessed microscopic changes throughout nearly every cell.
Cells capable of storing energy directly from sunlight.
The process wasn't true photosynthesis.
Rather, the virus had evolved specialized biological structures capable of converting solar radiation into usable metabolic energy.
It was astonishing.
The zombie had evolved into something partially sustained by sunlight.
***
The experiments lasted for nearly three weeks.
Repeated testing confirmed every observation.
The strain dramatically reduced energy consumption.
Minions carrying it remained active far longer.
They entered dormancy less frequently.
Recovery between battles improved noticeably.
Even their natural growth rate increased slightly.
Not because sunlight directly made them stronger.
But because they spent more time active and less time conserving energy.
The improvement wasn't dramatic.
Perhaps ten percent.
Maybe slightly more.
Yet when applied across hundreds of zombies...
The difference became enormous.
***
Zealot smiled.
"This isn't a specialization."
He looked toward the hundreds of minions moving outside.
"This is an upgrade for everyone."
Unlike ZM-1.
Unlike ZS-1.
Unlike P-type mutations.
This strain benefited every zombie equally.
Farm workers.
Scouts.
Patrols.
Construction teams.
Combat units.
Everyone.
It deserved an entirely new classification.
General Strains.
Strains so universally beneficial that every member of the Hive would receive them.
He nodded slowly.
"G-Series."
Picking up his notebook, he carefully wrote:
General Strain One.
Designation: G-1.
Ability: Solar Energy Absorption.
***
Application began immediately.
Every existing minion received G-1.
Hundreds of transformations occurred over the following weeks.
The Hive adapted quickly.
Almost overnight, noticeable changes appeared.
Morning patrols became more efficient.
Construction continued throughout entire days.
Scouts traveled farther before requiring rest.
Even the farms benefited.
The caretaker zombies worked almost continuously beneath the sun.
Productivity across the kingdom increased by nearly twenty percent.
No single zombie became overwhelmingly stronger.
Instead...
The entire civilization became more efficient.
More resilient.
More alive.
***
Finally, Zealot applied G-1 to himself.
The transformation felt almost pleasant.
Warmth spread through every part of his body.
His skin tingled gently beneath the sunlight.
For the first time since becoming infected, standing beneath the morning sun filled him with energy rather than simple comfort.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
He could actually feel the warmth nourishing his body.
Not replacing food.
Not replacing sleep entirely.
But reducing both requirements.
A faint smile appeared.
"Another step forward."
***
Weeks became months.
With G-1 strengthening the entire Hive, expansion accelerated dramatically.
New districts fell under Zealot's influence almost weekly.
His scouts reached neighboring cities.
Supply depots multiplied.
Additional farms were established.
Remote minion creation spread like branches of an enormous tree.
The Hive surpassed one thousand minions.
Then fifteen hundred.
Then two thousand.
Yet despite this explosive growth, Zealot noticed another unexpected benefit.
Whenever battles occurred, dead zombie corpses accumulated throughout his territory.
Thousands of them.
The corpses attracted insects.
Produced unpleasant odors.
Blocked roads.
Created unnecessary work.
Ordinary minions could move the bodies.
Burn them.
Bury them.
But every solution required time.
Resources.
Labor.
Looking across a battlefield one evening, Zealot sighed.
"There has to be a better solution."
Far away...
Inside the containment chambers beneath the apartment complex...
The imprisoned predator slowly opened its eyes.
Its stomach growled.
Not with hunger for human flesh.
But for zombie flesh.
As sunlight filtered through the reinforced windows above, the predator's body seemed to absorb the warmth more efficiently than ever before.
G-1 was changing it.
Quietly.
Subtly.
Preparing it for something entirely new.
Something even Zealot had yet to imagine.
And deep within the predator's evolving cells...
The foundation of the future P-1a Strain had already begun to take shape.