034 I leave it to you two

"Brother Su, he probably thinks we're here to rob him..." Zhong Xiaoshan whispered in Zhang Su's ear; it was what she would have thought if she were in his shoes.

Zhang Su shrugged, noncommittal, and stepped forward. "Brother, we're looking for food and water. Do you have any to spare?"

There was no response from inside, only a rustling sound. A moment later, the door clicked open a sliver, followed immediately by a loud slam as it was shut again. The sudden noise startled the three of them.

"I have a few packs of instant noodles and some canned goods. Take them and leave, and don't come back!" The man inside spoke, his voice flat, devoid of joy or sorrow.

Zhang Su tentatively pulled the door open and discovered an inner screen door. This double-door design, favored by some owners for soundproofing and security, was quite effective. The gap between the doors was less than thirty centimeters. A shoe rack stood against one side, neatly holding a dozen pairs of shoes, while on the floor sat a large bag of opened instant noodles and a can of yellow peaches.

Zhang Su picked up the noodles; there were four small packs inside. The can was substantial, one of those large, eight-hundred-gram containers.

"That guy is actually a decent person," Zheng Xinyu remarked, looking at what Zhang Su held.

Zhong Xiaoshan nodded in agreement. In such desperate times, finding someone willing to share their food was rare; she certainly wouldn't have done it herself.

"I suspect he hasn't grasped the situation yet. He probably thinks it's just a common disaster and that official rescue will arrive soon..." Zhang Su held the supplies, not yet putting them into his bag. He had intended to test the man, but the man's proactive and generous response made him feel embarrassed to take the items.

"Why haven't you left yet? Get out! Go, and don't come back!" Just as Zhang Su was about to warn the man about the true state of the world, an exasperated roar erupted from inside. The sudden outburst of irritability left the three of them staring at each other in confusion.

"Brother, this disaster isn't simple. Everything outside is in chaos; no one is coming to help us. Keep your supplies—thank you anyway!" Zhang Su decided against taking the goods. He set them down gently, closed the door, and led the two women away from the twelfth floor.

A disheveled man stood inside the entrance of 1201. Behind his glasses, his eyes were hollow. His hands trembled from the emotional turbulence. After watching the group leave through the peephole, he turned back into the room with a strange, eerie smile, ignoring the items on the floor.

"Xiao Min, they've gone. It's so quiet. The room is quiet, the hallway is quiet, the whole world is quiet. But why are you so quiet too? Won't you wake up and talk to me?" The man sat on the floor, cradling his wife, whose skin was a ghastly gray and whose head was pierced by a fruit knife.

The trio returned to the eleventh floor. The zombie inside 1101 had stopped pounding on the door; it was as if, once a certain amount of time passed without sensing prey, it entered a power-saving mode.

"I suspect many people are like that man on the twelfth floor, still waiting at home for official rescue. We are survivors who reacted and acted quickly," Zhang Su mused, reflecting on their brief exchange.

"We definitely are! On the first day, you dragged me along to kill zombies like a madman. It feels surreal thinking about it now. What were you thinking?" Zheng Xinyu let out a long sigh, looking at Zhang Su with a hint of resentment.

Zhang Su didn't rush to open the door. Instead, he lit a cigarette and said, "Isn't it better to adapt early? Everyone has different sources of information. If they knew the outside world had completely collapsed, even if they were terrified, I imagine they would summon the courage to face it."

Reliance and trust were double-edged swords; they provided the strength to hold on during despair, but excessive reliance could also strip away the will to fight.

"Brother Su... you said the outside is in complete chaos. How vast is this disaster?" Zhong Xiaoshan asked, her expression desolate. Even now, she didn't know the extent of the catastrophe.

Zhang Su exchanged a glance with Zheng Xinyu and said in a low voice, "Human civilization."

Zhong Xiaoshan looked at him in disbelief. Her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed. Just as she was about to ask more, Zhang Su shushed her and performed a bizarre maneuver. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, pulled the door of 1101 slightly, and blew a thick cloud of smoke into the gap. After waiting a moment and hearing no movement, he repeated the process four or five times.

"It seems these things have no special reaction to smoke, but it might just confuse its sense of smell. I'll leave the groggy thing to you two!" Zhang Su said, inserting his key into the lock.

"Damn, give us a heads-up!"
"Wait, weren't we supposed to lure it to the stairs?"

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan didn't hesitate to follow orders. Despite their fear, they raised their weapons, ready for combat. There was no path for retreat.

Zhang Su turned the key gently, lifting the door slightly as he opened it to prevent the hinges from creaking under the weight. The smoke had masked the scent of blood and hindered the zombie's ability to track them. As the door swung wide, the zombie stood with its back to them, its joints stiff, its upper body swaying slightly, neck twitching in small, mechanical increments in a state of relative dormancy.

Judging by its build and clothing, it was a female zombie. Her long, shoulder-length hair was withered from the mutation, looking like a botched perm from an incompetent stylist.

With the experience of the first time, Zheng Xinyu didn't hesitate. A blur of motion accompanied by a gust of wind, she brought the baseball bat down hard on the zombie's head.

*Clang!*

The heavy bat struck the skull with a dull thud.

*Roar!*

Startled by the surprise attack, the zombie shrieked in rage. As it turned, another strike came crashing toward its face.

*Thud.*

A heavy wrench slammed into its temple, sending the zombie staggering. Zheng Xinyu remembered their first kill—it hadn't gone down in one or two hits—so she immediately powered up for another strike.

*Thud, squelch, clang, thud, thud, thud...*

Under the frenzied, alternating strikes of the metal bat and the heavy iron wrench, the female zombie couldn't defend itself and was quickly beaten to the ground.

"Yah!"

With a sharp cry from Zhong Xiaoshan, the wrench came down hard, crushing the zombie's cheek inward. The creature's limbs twitched as if electrocuted before finally going still. The crimson hue in its remaining eye faded, slowly returning to a normal pupil.

"Truly brutal, but that's good..." Zhang Su kept his grip tight on his axe-hammer, ready to intervene if needed. The reality was better than expected; both women had unleashed hidden potential in the face of danger.