“Everyone, be careful.”
Ji Heng could sense the humans who had turned into zombies downstairs, their snarls and the heavy, dragging steps on the floor.
The others were also well-trained. As Ji Heng’s trusted subordinates, each of them possessed extraordinary skills. Now, after awakening their supernatural abilities, they were even more alert.
On the second day of the apocalypse, the gloomy atmosphere outside made the oppressive feeling inside weigh even heavier on everyone’s hearts.
Ji Heng stood at the dimly lit stairwell, his expression stern, eyes filled with unwavering resolve.
Looking at the people behind him, he spoke in a low but clear and strong voice: “The longer this takes, the worse it is for us. Let’s try to finish this quickly.”
Everyone nodded. Although fear of the apocalypse still lingered on their faces, under Ji Heng’s leadership, they all tried to steel themselves, keeping Tian Le and Tianyi protected in the middle, gripping their weapons tightly.
Two groups cautiously descended the stairs. The dim light made visibility extremely poor, forcing them to rely on the faint emergency lights to barely see the path under their feet.
Western Zhou was eerily quiet. Only their heavy breathing and the chaotic sounds of footsteps echoed through the stairwell.
After a few steps, a few dull and strange growls suddenly shattered the silence. Several zombies staggered out from the darkness.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally, limbs moving in impossible angles. Their skin was a pale grayish-blue, wounds caused by various reasons revealing patches of raw flesh in the dim light. Their bodies were covered in dirt and congealed blood, exuding a nauseating stench.
The zombies, upon hearing the noise, locked their vacant eyes on the group and let out excited gurgling sounds, claws flailing as they charged. Their stiff limbs, however, made running impossible, giving the scene a grotesque feel.
“Be careful not to get bitten.”
They still didn’t know exactly what the effects would be, but yesterday, those who had been bitten became like them. No one wanted that fate.
Lu Jingze reacted swiftly. He gripped the iron rod tightly and swung it violently at the nearest zombie. A muffled “thunk” sounded as the rod struck the zombie’s shoulder with force.
The zombie staggered from the blow but only paused briefly before roaring and advancing again, as if the attack had no effect.
“What’s going on? Why won’t this monster go down!” Jiang Lijia exclaimed in fear, her voice trembling slightly.
Ji Heng’s expression darkened as he fixed his gaze on every move the zombies made.
Lu Jingze gritted his teeth and swung the iron rod again, this time with all his strength, smashing it into the zombie’s back. With a “plop,” it fell to the ground.
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the zombie slowly got up, roaring angrily.
“Try hitting their heads.” Tian Le called out.
Hearing this, Ji Heng seized the opportunity. The weapon in his hand flashed coldly, slicing precisely across a zombie’s neck. Although it didn’t sever completely, it slowed the zombie’s movements significantly.
Lu Jingze immediately adjusted his target, raising the iron rod high and swinging with all his might at a zombie’s head. With a “thunk,” the rod embedded deep into the zombie’s skull. It finally collapsed and didn’t rise again.
“The zombies’ weak point is the head.”
Everyone exhaled, relieved to know this. With that knowledge, they all aimed for the heads of the zombies from then on.
As they continued down the stairs, the stairwell echoed with the dull thuds of iron rods hitting skulls, the zombies’ roars, and the group’s heavy breaths.
After an intense battle, they finally repelled all the zombies drawn by the noise from different floors. Each person was drenched in sweat, clothes in disarray, and some even splattered with zombie blood.
By the time they finally reached the garage, nearly an hour had passed.
The garage was filled with a pungent smell of gasoline. Vehicles cast shadowy shapes in the dim light, like dormant beasts waiting to strike.
Catching their breaths, they quickly followed their plan. Cai Yan and Sun Ye each took a car, ferrying their team members along the designated route toward the warehouse.
Residents in the same building, upon hearing the noise, peeked secretly. Besides those who had become zombies, some braved the scene, saw Ji Heng’s group kill the monsters, and hurried to the garage to escape by car.
Others, observing the outside scene through windows, saw the man-eating creatures. Lacking courage to go out, with supplies still at home to last some time, they planned to stay inside and wait for rescue.
Once in the car, Ji Heng looked at Tian Le, who held Tianyi without any sign of fatigue or flushed face, and nodded with satisfaction.
He had expected Tian Le to be out of breath after carrying Ji Tianyi and climbing many stairs. But it seemed Tian Le’s constitution was better than he had imagined.
Tian Le, unaware he was being seen as weak, would probably have joked loudly if he knew: although he was the weakest in terms of power among this group, his combat awareness and evasion skills were solid.
With someone protecting him, he only had to hold the baby and follow the team. Tian Le was very satisfied with Ji Heng.
He hoped Ji Heng would keep his promise: to protect him in the days to come. In return, he would take good care of Ji Tianyi, being an excellent babysitter.
The car slowly started, the roar of the engine instantly breaking the surrounding silence.
The sound acted like a sharp signal, immediately attracting the attention of nearby zombies.
Zombies wandering aimlessly in the alley mechanically turned their stiff necks. Their cloudy eyes glowed eerily as they locked onto the slowly exiting cars.
The zombies emitted harsh, guttural growls, dragging their deformed or missing limbs as they stumbled toward the vehicles.
Bai Qingyu watched through the window as the zombies staggered, each step seeming like it might topple them, yet they maintained a strange, stubborn balance to continue forward.
Some twisted their arms as if trying to grab the moving vehicles faster, dragging their bodies across the ground and leaving behind repulsive trails.
But these were freshly transformed zombies, far too slow.
Their stiff joints and uncoordinated steps made their speed far slower than the gradually accelerating cars.
The wheels screeched against the asphalt. The cars shot forward like arrows from a bow, kicking up clouds of dust.
Zombies left far behind could only roar and struggle in vain, watching helplessly as the cars disappeared into the street ahead.
The journey was not smooth. Roads were littered with abandoned vehicles from accidents, and zombies occasionally emerged suddenly.
The team used iron rods to keep zombies at bay while coordinating their still-unfamiliar supernatural abilities to attack the creatures.