031 Sweeping the Floors (Prince, please keep reading~~)

The harrowing events at dusk left a profound impact on Zhang Su and his two companions. Upon returning to Apartment 801, they silently threw themselves into training, as if only the exhaustion of their bodies could silence the fear in their hearts.

The high-intensity training accelerated their consumption of food. Even Zhong Xiaoshan, who usually skipped dinner, slurped down a bowl of snail rice noodles.

Night fell, with a clear sky and sparse stars. The three sat around the coffee table. A small lamp cast a dim, hazy glow, making them look mysterious and creating a strange atmosphere, like a secret meeting of some religious cult.

"Brother Su, our food and water are being consumed a bit too quickly..." Zheng Xinyu said, sounding somewhat worried.

Zhang Su had naturally noticed this issue, but it was a consequence of the policy shift he had implemented.

"The accelerated consumption is because we increased the training intensity. This is a necessary compromise. If food and water run out, we can go out and find more, but if we don't hurry to get stronger, we’ll only be slaughtered!"

Their previous policy was to ration food to delay consumption, but now they were trading food for muscle, prioritizing growth above all else.

Both women nodded in agreement with Zhang Su’s reasoning. Just sitting and waiting for their supplies to dwindle was no solution; that would just be dragging out their survival one day at a time until, when they were completely tapped out, death would easily claim them.

"Therefore, we cannot continue to hole up at home. We must start scavenging for supplies and integrate real-world combat into our daily training!" Zhang Su held up a finger, speaking with great seriousness.

"You mean..." Zheng Xinyu’s eyes lit up, and she pointed toward the floor below.

Zhang Su knew she was definitely referring to the van filled with various supplies in the underground parking garage. He shook his head slightly and said, "The situation in the underground garage is unclear. Don't go there unless absolutely necessary!"

"That's true..." Zheng Xinyu frowned in thought, then proposed, "The unit door is locked. Could we start by searching other units within our building?"

Zhang Su nodded. "Exactly! There are twenty-four units in our building. Based on occupancy rates, there should be seven or eight empty ones. Excluding our floor and Brother Li's place, that leaves at most fourteen or fifteen units to check."

"I have a way to get a rough idea of the occupancy in our unit!"

Before Zhang Su or the other woman could react, Zheng Xinyu dashed back to her room and retrieved her phone. "Most people in the homeowners' group have updated their real addresses. If we search for '03-1', '3-1', or 'Building 3' here, we can get a general idea!"

"That's a great idea, Sister Xinyu! You read them out, and I'll write them down!" Zhong Xiaoshan opened the notepad app on her phone, eager to prove her worth.

"Okay, good. There are people on the first floor... the first floor is full. The second floor..."

Soon, a list was compiled.

"So, the first, third, and fourth floors are full. Units 02 on the second, fifth, and eighth floors are empty—though we don't need to worry about the eighth floor. There are no Unit 01s on the sixth, ninth, and eleventh floors. We don't know about the seventh, tenth, and twelfth floors. Is that right?" Zhang Su asked, looking at the list.

"That's right, but just because they aren't listed doesn't mean they're empty. They might not have updated their names, or they might not even be in the group at all," Zheng Xinyu said, closing her phone.

"Conversely, those who updated their addresses might not actually be living here. In any case, it has some reference value. We'll leave it at that for tonight, and tomorrow, we start clearing the building!"

The discussion ended. Zhang Su looked meaningfully at the slightly awkward Zhong Xiaoshan.

"Then... I'll go back to rest." Sensing Zhang Su's gaze and realizing he didn't intend to let her stay the night, Zhong Xiaoshan stood up, feeling a bit uneasy.

After seeing Zhong Xiaoshan off and watching her close the door to 802 through the peephole, Zheng Xinyu tentatively asked, "Should we have let her sleep here?"

"It's not necessary for now!" Zhang Su shook his head, then smirked. "Since you're so concerned about her, I could make a sacrifice and go over to keep her company!"

"Get lost!" Zheng Xinyu turned and landed a punch on Zhang Su.

"You said it yourself, so I won't go against a lady's wishes." As he spoke, Zhang Su moved toward the door.

Zheng Xinyu blocked the door and retorted, "I misspoke! What I meant was, go to hell!"

"You're so stingy... I'm exhausted after a whole day, I'm completely drained, and you're the one with the dirty mind!"

Zhang Su turned and walked toward the bathroom subconsciously, but remembering there was no water, he shook his head helplessly and headed toward the bedroom, waving at Zheng Xinyu behind him.

"Dirty mind yourself! You were the one who said you wanted to go over there, damn it!" Zheng Xinyu followed him, grumbling. Since she couldn't speak loudly, she had to get right in his face to make her point.

A gentleman like Zhang Su kept his word. That night, he really did nothing but get a good night's sleep to recharge his batteries.

"That feels damn good!"

The next morning, Zhang Su opened the bedroom window to breathe in the cold, crisp air and gave a long, satisfying stretch.

He used to be unable to fall asleep before two or three in the morning, but now, being exhausted like a dog during the day and lacking the stimulation of entertainment, he could actually fall asleep by ten. His wake-up time had also shifted from noon to seven or eight in the morning.

At nine in the morning, Zhong Xiaoshan dragged her aching body to 801. She had thought her work in the hospital was strenuous, but it turned out to be nothing compared to physical training.

Fortunately, it was still within an acceptable range, and she hadn't reached the point of total collapse.

Zhang Su knew the physical burden on Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan was heavy, but the pressure to survive was greater; there wasn't much time for rest.

"I thought about it last night. We'll start by clearing the floors above us. To ensure our safety, we need to block the stairwell on the seventh floor with something!"

"Block the stairs below us? Why? Zombies aren't exactly agile at climbing stairs." Zheng Xinyu asked, puzzled. She had seen zombies chasing people out of the complex the day before, tripping over themselves just trying to climb over rubble.

"Zombies are just slow at climbing stairs, not incapable! And blocking them isn't just about the zombies; it's also to prevent anyone else from taking advantage of the situation. Who knows if there are other survivors in our building!" A strange glint flashed in Zhang Su's eyes.

Zhong Xiaoshan, while massaging her arms, said, "If there are other survivors, that would be great, wouldn't it? We'd have another pair of hands."

"Heh..." Zhang Su sneered and shook his head. "In times of minor trouble, I'd like to believe in the goodness of the world and the kindness of people, but in this situation, it's safer not to trust strangers than to trust them!"

"I guess I'm just lucky to have met two kind people like Brother Su and Sister Xinyu," Zhong Xiaoshan said, seizing the chance to butter him up.

"Don't talk nonsense. That's the plan. Let's go, let's block the passage first!"

With that, Zhang Su stood up and called the two women to get to work.

The three of them first tried to wedge a sofa stool into the stairwell, but it was too big to fit through the security door, and the smaller ones wouldn't jam properly. Reluctantly, they moved Zhong Xiaoshan's vanity table and stacked it on top of the sofa, finally managing to block the stairs.

Zhang Su tied two iron spoons to the vanity table; they jingled whenever the table was shaken. The group was quite satisfied with this makeshift alarm system.

With the obstacle in place, it would be very difficult for anyone to get up to the eighth floor. Let alone zombies, even if someone else came, clearing the path would inevitably make noise, which was more than enough time for them to react.

As for the elevator...

It hadn't moved since it stopped on the sixth floor that day. Nobody knew if it was broken or if something else was going on.