051 Explosion (4K, please follow and read on)

Through training and the experience gained from previously killing zombies, Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Shanshan had grown much more adept. Both their force and accuracy had significantly improved.

After four or five strikes, the zombie’s skull cracked, its arms twitched once, and it lay motionless on the ground.

"Wah!"

As expected, Zheng Xinyu let out a dry heave, patted her chest repeatedly, swallowed hard, and whispered, "Good thing I hadn't eaten yet. Good thing I hadn't eaten..."

"Morning exercise, of course, has to be done before breakfast!"

Zhang Su hadn't intervened and had been standing on the stairs the whole time. Seeing the zombie taken care of, he walked over, crouched down, and prepared to loot it.

"Brother Su, let me do it."

Zhong Shanshan volunteered eagerly, squatting down to rummage through the zombie's pockets. She quickly retrieved a smartphone with a shattered screen, a set of keys, half a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter from the male zombie.

"These are the only useful things." Zhong Shanshan handed the items to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su nodded approvingly, tossed everything into his bag, and continued, "Your movements were still a bit awkward just now. Adjust your posture; you can use even more force. Aim to take down the zombies in less time."

"The faster you finish off a zombie, the safer you are. Watch my form. If you're striking downward, the rest of your body needs to coordinate like this..."

After stowing the items away, Zhang Su gave the two women a lesson in combat technique.

Both Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Shanshan listened with rapt attention, knowing these skills would be crucial for their survival later on, and dared not slack off.

After demonstrating a few times and letting them practice a bit more, Zhang Su nodded to Zheng Xinyu. "You saw how I did it, right? Xinyu, you're up this time. Be very quiet when closing the door!"

"Keep an eye out for me, okay? If anything goes wrong, you have to save me," Zheng Xinyu said nervously, wiping away saliva from the corner of her mouth.

"Don't worry." Zhang Su gently patted her back.

Zheng Xinyu couldn't stand the sight of gore—it even surpassed her fear of zombies—but she remained relatively calm when it came to luring them.

Following the example set before, she quickly lured a female zombie past the security door, kicked out while pulling the door shut. Task complete.

Cooperating with Zhong Shanshan, Zhang Su instantly dispatched the zombie.

Looking at the wrench stained with various bodily fluids, Zhang Su said, "We need to make a trip to the E-Lian-Win convenience store. There are some decent daggers hidden there. You two need to practice your accuracy and strength first, so using those daggers will be much easier later on!"

Proactively attracting zombies and taking them down one by one consumed physical stamina slowly. But if they were caught in an encounter with a massive horde, the energy drain would be staggering!

After finishing the looting, Zhong Shanshan awkwardly said, "I guess she kept all her stuff in her bag; there's nothing on her body..."

Zhang Su didn't mind. People who had turned into zombies overnight wouldn't have many supplies on them, unless they were fleeing refugees carrying large bags.

"Days have passed, and the smell is getting worse and worse..." Zheng Xinyu fanned the air in front of her nose, looking helpless.

When the outbreak first began, the air was filled only with the scent of blood, but now a putrid, sour stench lingered, making people extremely uncomfortable.

"And that's with the temperature dropping. If it had stayed as hot as before, the smell would probably be even more pungent..." Zhang Su shook his head as well. There was no helping it; there were more dead people than living ones in the residential complex, and even more zombies than corpses. The stench of decay was bound to grow heavier.

"Well... Brother Su, Sister Xinyu, I'm heading up."

Zhong Shanshan was very self-aware. Knowing that her turn came right after Zheng Xinyu's, she picked up the large wrench and walked upstairs.

"Remember: close the door gently, strike hard!" Zhang Su reminded her.

"Yeah, got it!"

In stark contrast to Zheng Xinyu's aversion to bloody scenes, Zhong Shanshan was somewhat afraid of zombies. She had been trying her best to overcome it, but some fears couldn't be conquered just by telling oneself to be immune.

Walking cautiously behind the security door, Zhong Shanshan imitated Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu, slowly pulling the security door open while curling her body and barely daring to breathe.

Whether it was because the zombies knew the creature hiding behind the door was trembling or just purely uncooperative, they didn't walk out of the security door for a long time.

Zhong Shanshan stared fixedly at the edge of the door panel, straining her ears to listen for the zombies' footsteps. Her hand gripping the door handle trembled slightly, growing increasingly tense as time passed.

Minute by minute ticked by. The waiting process was agonizing, and prolonged concentration numbed the senses, dulling hearing, vision, and reflexes.

Just like Zhong Shanshan at that moment: a zombie had already stepped out of the security door with a twisted gait, yet she failed to react in time.

It wasn't until the zombie turned its head to look straight at her that she snapped out of it...

Veins crisscrossed beneath the ashen skin, its eyes burned crimson, and a mouthful of jagged white teeth looked like executioner's blades. Everything appeared before her eyes with terrifying suddenness.

Zhong Shanshan's heart leapt into her throat, her head buzzing with a loud *thrum*. Subconsciously, she let go of the door, and the security door rebounded, slamming against the zombie with a sharp *clack*.

Awooo!

The stimulation sent the zombie into a frenzy. With a strange howl, it reached out to grab Zhong Shanshan.

After snapping back to reality, Zhong Shanshan completely forgot what she was supposed to do. She swung the iron wrench upward in a ferocious blow straight at the zombie's chin.

Thud, thud, thud.

The zombie possessed immense strength, but its balance was truly mediocre. Struck heavily on the jaw, it toppled backward and tumbled down the stairs.

However, the real danger was only just arriving!

The five remaining zombies on the twelfth floor heard the commotion and immediately swarmed toward the security door with swaggering gaits.

The security door, which hadn't been fully shut, was instantly blown wide open!

"Jump!"

Seeing Zhong Shanshan fighting the zombie, Zhang Su knew things were going south. Just as he prepared to head up, he was momentarily blocked by the falling zombie. Rushing upward again to shut the door, he saw zombies spilling out in a row and shouted a warning to the terrified Zhong Shanshan.

That shout successfully drew the zombies' attention away from Zhong Shanshan, buying a brief window of opportunity.

Zhong Shanshan had thought she was a goner, but hearing Zhang Su's yell brought her back to her senses. She struck the nearest zombie hard with her wrench and, not caring whether she broke a leg, leaped downward toward the lower landing.

Since Zhang Su dared to tell Zhong Shanshan to jump, he naturally had a way to catch her.

Locking his eyes on her trajectory, he extended his arms, shortening the distance between them as much as possible. Upon contact, he didn't use brute force to fight the momentum; instead, he smoothly guided her downward, dissipating the impact while adjusting her direction.

Plop.

Zhong Shanshan landed squarely on the back of the fallen zombie.

Ignoring everything else, she pushed off the floor with her feet, stood up, and raised the iron wrench high, preparing to face the oncoming wave of zombies.

"Move, take cover!"

Zhang Su pulled the two women toward the corner of the stairs leading down to the eleventh floor.

Clatter, clatter.

Right after the three of them ducked away, a cascading series of tumbles echoed one after another. The zombies chasing them down the stairs tripped and tumbled like rolling gourds, crashing down the stairwell corner and piling up like a human pagoda on top of the three previous corpses.

"Attack!"

Zhang Su gave a low shout, swinging his heavy axe downward at the head of the zombie whose face was turned toward them.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Shanshan were quick to react as well, raising their own weapons to lay into the pile of zombies before them.

In an instant, a dense series of wet thuds filled the stairwell, interspersed with the strained cries of women exerting themselves and the dull *thump* of hard objects striking the floor.

The zombies were utterly helpless. Piled one on top of another without intelligence or coordination, they couldn't even stand up. Their sharp teeth lost all utility as they stretched out their long necks trying to bite into fresh flesh, only to be met with a hammer instead.

The battle didn't last long. After about two minutes, Zhang Su was the first to stop, heavily panting as he carefully inspected the bloody, mangled scene.

"They're all dead. Stop."

With that, he slowly retreated, leaning back against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. He tried to wipe the blood and grime off his face, but seeing his sleeve was in an even worse state, he didn't care about the cold. He stripped off his outer layer, used the inner lining to wipe his face and hands, and then tossed the garment onto the pile of corpses.

Thump, thump.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Shanshan both collapsed limply nearby. Their weapons clattered to the ground, and their fingers, arms, and entire upper bodies trembled uncontrollably.

The corner of the stairwell had transformed into a scene straight out of hell...

The slain zombies were battered beyond recognition, and the three survivors looked like vengeful spirits rising from the underworld!

"Seriously, what were you thinking, starting a fight with a zombie right at the doorway like that?"

Zhang Su kneaded his palms to relax them and gave Zhong Shanshan an annoyed kick with his foot.

"I... I waited for so long, and when I finally saw the zombie, I just reacted on instinct."

Zhong Shanshan was experiencing a wave of lingering fear. Her courage had grown, yes, but she had still made a mistake.

"You were just too tense. If we could average your personality and mine out, it'd be great," Zheng Xinyu said limply. "Then you wouldn't be scared of zombies, and I wouldn't dry heave every time I see something gross..."

"Good training got messed up like this... Come on, both of you, state your mistakes from just now and what tricks you figured out."

Zhang Su didn't dwell on the past mistake; summarizing and making progress was the key.

"I'll go first..." Zheng Xinyu said. "Because I was too pumped up, I swung without actually locking onto the target. I missed many times and wasted a lot of energy..."

As the three of them gradually calmed down, they each spoke about their errors and experiences during the clash. Post-combat debriefs effectively improved emergency response capabilities and combat skills.

Once the summary was nearly complete, Zhang Su said, "I said before that messing up a task comes with a penalty. Shanshan, do you remember?"

"I remember, I remember. It's only fair, I accept any punishment..."

Zhong Shanshan felt her pounding heart and decided that being alive was the greatest blessing of all; punishment was just punishment, no big deal.

"Even though you botched the job, you still showed progress—you didn't scream your head off like before. But you still need to overcome your psychological barrier. Sit right here and practice steeling your nerves for half an hour. Then, spend ten minutes hopping up and down the stairs—careful not to injure yourself. And then, hmm..."

Zhang Su furrowed his brow in thought.

Zheng Xinyu grinned and said, "Hey, shouldn't the reward and punishment system be clearly stated and transparent beforehand? Why are you making things up on the spot? Damn it, running a dictatorship, are you? ...Shanshan, let's protest!"

"No, no, it's fine. These punishments are for my own good..." Zhong Shanshan waved her hands repeatedly at Zheng Xinyu.

Zhang Su looked at Zheng Xinyu with mild bewilderment. He had originally thought things would be awkward between the two women after the previous night and had even prepared to mediate, but instead, they seemed to be getting along harmoniously, even starting to cover for each other?

"The previous two tasks, plus later on you'll go and retrieve thick winter clothes from the apartments upstairs. That's it!"

From the eighth floor upwards, things were completely safe without a single zombie. Zhang Su felt entirely comfortable letting Zhong Shanshan operate alone.

"Alright, Brother Su, I'll start right now..."

Zhong Shanshan readily accepted her punishment. Without even waiting to eat, she immediately found a spot to sit, staring face-to-face with the mangled corpses. Her serious expression made it look as though she had returned to her student days, attending her favorite class.

...

...

Breakfast and lunch were combined into a single meal. After eating at noon, the three of them sorted through the clothes Zhong Shanshan had collected and picked out the ones that were still wearable.

"Brother Su, you look so bizarre in that outfit..."

Zheng Xinyu watched Zhang Su put on a high-collared jacket. He looked just like a newly appointed bureaucrat, and she couldn't help but laugh.

Zhang Su tugged at his sleeves, pulled the high collar down a bit, and grinned. "What time do you think it is? Just make do! It's a genuine Yarl brand, costs at least two or three thousand per piece, and it's warm as hell!"

Aside from the slightly questionable aesthetic, everything else was fantastic. Not only was it warm and well-fitting, but it also didn't restrict joint movement much.

Zhong Shanshan also covered her mouth with a chuckle. "Brother Su, wearing that jacket, you look like a leader inspecting a grassroots unit. Plus, your physique just screams 'incorruptible official.'"

"Is that so?"

Zhang Su enthusiastically struck a bureaucratic pose, pointing imperiously at the two women. "Such fresh-faced lasses! You must showcase your beauty, and this young lady has a fine figure. Tonight, I'll personally provide some guidance..."

Rumble...

Right at that moment, a massive explosion rang out, followed immediately by a violent tremor.

Zhang Su and the others could barely stand and quickly threw themselves onto the bed to avoid falling over.

"Did the building explode!?"

Covered in a cold sweat, Zhang Su bolted out of the bedroom like an arrow toward the window ledge. Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Shanshan scrambled out behind him, their faces etched with horror.

Fighting zombies still gave them a fighting chance, but if the building actually collapsed...

Their survival odds would definitely be lower than facing a zombie siege!

"What the hell!"

Zheng Xinyu rushed to Zhang Su's side, peered out, and raised a hand to cover her mouth.

A violent explosion had occurred in the neighboring unit, but due to blind spots, they couldn't see the exact situation. Billowing black smoke rose from below, and through the glass, tongues of fire could be seen raging and consuming everything.

Zhang Su didn't speak. He heard someone shouting in the distance.

"Hahaha! Burn! Wife, son, I'm coming to join you! Burn, ahhhh!!!"

The frantic shouts didn't last long before ending in a scream filled with grievance and fury.

"Damn it, a madman!"

Zhang Su cursed with an iron-clad expression. He didn't know what that person had detonated, but the massive explosion and raging fire in the adjacent unit would definitely affect their side as well.

"Zhang Su, what did you say?"

Zheng Xinyu hadn't yet grasped the full severity of the situation and asked Zhang Su with a blank stare.

Zhang Su shook his head without answering. Suddenly sensing something, he looked up toward the opposite building and sure enough, spotted someone there!

Qin Ya leaned out of the window, frantically waving a piece of clothing. Seeing that the young man opposite had finally noticed him, he roared at the top of his lungs, "Run! Get out of the building!"