Chapter 5: Eyes Across the World
Zealot spent the next two days learning everything he could about his first minion.
The results were astonishing.
The zombie required no sleep.
No rest.
No entertainment.
No motivation.
As long as it received instructions, it would continue working tirelessly.
The creature could move furniture.
Search apartments.
Carry supplies.
Clean rooms.
Even perform simple maintenance tasks.
While its intelligence remained limited, it could understand surprisingly detailed commands.
The more Zealot observed it, the more he realized something important.
The greatest value of his minions wasn't combat.
At least not yet.
It was labor.
A tireless worker capable of performing dangerous tasks without complaint.
This realization gave him an idea.
An idea that refused to leave his mind.
The city outside remained filled with zombies.
If he could create more minions, he could begin exploring the surrounding area safely.
But before that, he needed answers.
How far did his control extend?
What happened if a minion moved beyond his sight?
Would the connection break?
Would he lose control?
Or was the range unlimited?
Only one way existed to find out.
Experimentation.
***
Capturing zombies turned out to be far easier than Zealot expected.
His first minion proved incredibly useful.
Using improvised traps and careful planning, he managed to isolate several wandering zombies inside the apartment complex.
One by one, he subdued them.
Each received a crimson crystal.
Each became obedient.
By the end of the day, Zealot possessed five minions.
The original zombie.
And four newly created servants.
The moment the fifth minion joined the collective, Zealot noticed something interesting.
The mental connection felt stronger.
Broader.
Almost like an invisible network expanding around him.
The sensation was difficult to describe.
Yet undeniably present.
Standing in the lobby of the apartment building, Zealot examined his small army.
Five zombies stood silently before him.
Awaiting orders.
The sight would have terrified any normal survivor.
To Zealot, it felt strangely reassuring.
"Let's begin."
He pointed toward the eastern road.
"You."
The first zombie stepped forward.
"Walk east."
The zombie nodded slightly.
Then began walking.
Zealot pointed toward another.
"Walk west."
The second obeyed.
A third received instructions to travel north.
A fourth received instructions to travel south.
The original minion remained behind.
Zealot wanted at least one bodyguard nearby.
Soon the four zombies disappeared into different streets.
Each moving farther away.
Each increasing the distance between them.
At first nothing happened.
The connection remained stable.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Thirty.
Still stable.
Zealot sat inside his apartment and monitored the strange sensation linking him to the minions.
One kilometer.
Two kilometers.
Three kilometers.
The bond remained unchanged.
His excitement grew.
Perhaps the range was much larger than expected.
Then something happened.
Without warning, his vision blurred.
For a split second, he saw another perspective.
A different street.
Different buildings.
Different scenery.
The experience lasted only an instant.
But it happened.
Zealot immediately sat upright.
"What was that?"
His heartbeat accelerated.
The vision had not come from his own eyes.
He was certain of it.
Slowly he focused on the eastern minion.
The connection strengthened.
Then
The world shifted.
Suddenly he was looking through another pair of eyes.
Cloudy eyes.
Zombie eyes.
Zealot nearly fell from his chair.
The perspective belonged to the eastern minion.
The zombie continued walking down an abandoned road.
Ruined vehicles lined both sides.
Corpses littered the pavement.
Everything appeared slightly distorted.
Yet undeniably visible.
Zealot gasped.
He could see through the minion.
The discovery shocked him.
Even more surprising
He could still feel his own body simultaneously.
It was like watching two screens at once.
His human eyes remained open.
Yet another viewpoint existed alongside them.
A second vision.
A second body.
A second awareness.
"Incredible..."
The words escaped involuntarily.
Excitement surged through him.
Immediately he tested the other minions.
North.
South.
West.
One after another.
Each provided its own perspective.
Each transmitted sensory information.
The experience became overwhelming.
Too many viewpoints.
Too many images.
His head began aching.
After several attempts, Zealot discovered he could switch between perspectives at will.
Focusing on one minion strengthened its feed.
Ignoring another reduced its presence.
The process quickly became manageable.
Hours passed.
The experiment continued.
The four minions traveled farther and farther away.
Yet the connection never weakened.
By sunset, the eastern minion had traveled over twenty kilometers.
Still connected.
The western minion remained under his control.
Still connected.
North.
South.
All connected.
Not even the slightest degradation occurred.
Zealot sat silently.
A realization slowly formed.
This wasn't merely a control ability.
It was an intelligence network.
A surveillance system.
An information empire.
His minions could explore anywhere.
Observe anything.
Scout entire cities.
And relay everything back to him.
The strategic implications were absurd.
He could gather information without risking his own life.
He could monitor threats.
Track survivor groups.
Locate resources.
Identify dangers.
All from the safety of his apartment.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
The value of his power had just increased tenfold.
***
The experiment continued for several more days.
The four zombies walked relentlessly.
East.
West.
North.
South.
None stopped.
None rested.
None complained.
Whenever obstacles appeared, they simply walked around them.
Whenever roads became blocked, they found alternate paths.
Through their eyes, Zealot witnessed the true scale of the apocalypse.
Entire neighborhoods overrun.
Military checkpoints abandoned.
Shopping centers destroyed.
Hospitals packed with the infected.
Highways clogged with vehicles.
The world had truly collapsed.
Humanity's greatest civilizations had fallen within weeks.
Yet among the devastation, opportunities appeared.
Warehouses.
Department stores.
Fuel stations.
Supermarkets.
Farms.
Industrial districts.
Resources remained everywhere.
Waiting to be claimed.
Waiting to be secured.
Waiting to become part of something larger.
The more Zealot observed, the more ambitious he became.
Survival was no longer his only goal.
Merely surviving suddenly felt too small.
Too passive.
Too temporary.
Instead, a new objective emerged.
Build.
Expand.
Control.
The apartment building would become his foundation.
The surrounding blocks would become his territory.
The city itself...
Perhaps one day even that would belong to him.
A week after beginning the experiment, Zealot recalled the four wandering minions.
The results exceeded every expectation.
The connection truly possessed no observable range limit.
His minions had traveled farther than he thought possible.
Yet control remained perfect.
As the five zombies stood before him once more, Zealot felt something he hadn't experienced since before the apocalypse.
Confidence.
Not the reckless confidence of ignorance.
The confidence born from knowledge.
The confidence of someone who understood his advantages.
Most survivors feared the zombies.
Most survivors hid from the zombies.
Most survivors ran from the zombies.
Zealot commanded them.
And with every passing day, his army continued to grow.
The age of simple survival was ending.
The age of expansion was about to begin.