Lin Po held a large machete in his hand with an iron rod strapped to his back. He pulled another rod out from his bag and handed it to Duan Yunze, saying, “I don’t know if you can use this, but take it for self-defense.”
Duan Yunze was dumbfounded. He asked foolishly, “Just how many things did you guys bring out with you?”
Lin Po replied, “A lot. So don’t try any tricks, or we won’t let you off easy. Now, we’re going upstairs to save that child. You can choose to move on your own or come up with us.”
Duan Yunze said, “I’d better go up with you then. Otherwise, what if you leave me behind?”
Lin Po glanced at him and said, “You certainly worry a lot. Since we brought you this far, we definitely won’t ditch you without a word. If you have any plans of your own, tell us; if we can give you a lift, we will.”
Duan Yunze thought to himself that he would definitely stick to them like glue, as he truly had nowhere else to go right now.
As the two were speaking, Yun Zhuan had already reached the front of the apartment building. The security door had long been broken by someone and stood wide open, leading straight to the elevators opposite.
The motion-sensor lights in the hallway were still functioning, though it was unclear if there was power elsewhere. The dim lights could only illuminate a small area, leaving the rest shrouded in a darkness that made one feel tense.
Yun Zhuan walked in front. His footsteps were very light, moving upstairs like a cat. Lin Po followed behind him, controlling his body with equal agility, his toes landing softly without making a sound.
Influenced by them, Duan Yunze also hunched his body as he advanced. Having practiced martial arts since childhood, these movements were easy for him. They made it safely to the fourth floor, but a situation arose as they prepared to head to the fifth. Something was happening in the apartment on the fourth floor near the stairs; the commotion inside suddenly grew loud after they arrived. Before the three could head up, the front door of that apartment suddenly burst open, and a person rushed out. Lin Po didn’t even get a clear look at the person’s back before they had already bolted downstairs. Meanwhile, the several zombies released by that person reacted from their initial confusion at losing their target and turned their bodies toward the three of them.
Lin Po gritted his teeth. This shouldn’t have required much effort, but now they were being used as bait. They had no choice but to kill these zombies, or they would be the ones eaten.
Lin Po’s body immediately reacted with combat instinct. The moment a zombie lunged, the machete in his hand swung out fiercely. Yun Zhuan was also taking them down with one strike each. These zombies wouldn’t fall immediately upon being hit unless it was a headshot, so almost every one required a few follow-up strikes.
Lin Po and Yun Zhuan stood back-to-back to guard against the surrounding zombies, preventing any sudden attacks from behind.
Duan Yunze stood there blankly holding the iron rod, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, a zombie approached him from behind, baring its teeth to bite him. Lin Po’s eyes caught it, and he sent a flying kick that knocked the zombie to the ground. Yun Zhuan immediately stepped forward to deliver the finishing blow. The two coordinated seamlessly.
Lin Po couldn’t help but roar, “Are you blind? It was about to bite you and you’re just standing there! I’m telling you, there won’t be a next time. If you don’t move, then just wait to die.”
Lin Po’s words were harsh, but they instantly jolted Duan Yunze awake. Previously, he had only been escaping and had never fought zombies head-on. He had been startled by Lin Po’s ferocity, which was why he hadn’t reacted in time.
He said, “I understand. I’ll be careful.”
Lin Po then nodded. Beside him, Yun Zhuan was a bit unhappy; this guy named Duan was stealing Lin Po’s attention away from him.
Once the zombies that ran out from the fourth-floor room were dealt with, the three immediately ran to the fifth floor. The door on the fifth floor was also closed, and rustling sounds came from inside. Lin Po shouted through the wall, “Hu Xiaoxing, can you hear me?”
Hearing the voice, Hu Xiaoxing cried out, “I can hear you!”
Lin Po: “Good. Tell me, how many zombies are in your living room?”
Hearing the term “zombies,” Hu Xiaoxing was stunned for a moment before replying after a while, “There are two. They are my mom and dad.”
Lin Po could hear the strain in the young girl’s voice. He thought for a moment and put his machete away. No matter what, Hu Xiaoxing probably didn’t want to see her parents not only turned into monsters but also hacked to pieces.
Lin Po looked at Yun Zhuan. He knew Yun Zhuan could use a tool to snap a zombie’s neck. Although Lin Po could do it with his bare hands, he didn’t want to scare Yun Zhuan yet; it was better to take things slow.
Yun Zhuan clearly understood Lin Po’s meaning. He first picked the door lock, pushed it open a crack to observe the positions of the two zombies, and then modified the shape of the iron rod in his hand, extending it into a sort of half-hoop. Then, he threw the door open, attracting the two zombies to run over.
The iron hoop was placed unerringly around the necks of the two zombies. Yun Zhuan pulled hard, and with two crisp cracks, the two zombies lay on the ground, having thoroughly bid farewell to this world.
After confirming the room was safe, Lin Po walked in and knocked on Hu Xiaoxing’s bedroom door, saying, “Hu Xiaoxing, it’s me. You’re safe.”
The door flew open, and the little girl ran out, hugging him tightly and sobbing, “Thank you for coming to save me.”
Lin Po hugged her back to comfort her, saying, “It’s okay now, it’s okay. You’re safe.”
Yun Zhuan handed over some water and biscuits from the side. Lin Po took them and gave them to Hu Xiaoxing. Hu Xiaoxing felt a bit embarrassed, but hunger made her unable to stop herself from wolfing them down.
“Alright, let’s not waste time here. We don’t know if there are zombies in the other residents’ homes. If we run into someone like that person on the fourth floor, it’ll be a huge hassle.”
Lin Po said to Hu Xiaoxing, “Do you have any other relatives? Should I take you to them?”
Hu Xiaoxing grabbed the corner of his clothes, shook her head, and said, “My family has no more relatives in Jiang City.”
Lin Po had guessed this might be the case. He said, “Then stay with us for now. If we can find your relatives later, we’ll talk then. By the way, have you awakened an ability? The kind of power you saw people using on the street before.”
Hu Xiaoxing nodded and said, “I have an ability, but it seems useless.”
She raised her hand to demonstrate for Lin Po. A wisp of cold blue light floated at her fingertips.
Lin Po instantly gasped. He hadn’t expected Hu Xiaoxing to be a mental-type ability user. In his past life, Lin Po had rarely seen mental-type users because most of them were protected very well and were not people ordinary citizens could ever meet.
The reason mental-type abilities were so precious was largely because they could treat the “impurity” of abilities caused by absorbing zombie crystal nuclei, greatly increasing the effectiveness of those powers.
Furthermore, mental-type users were extremely rare. Before people discovered this particular function of their power, many mental-type users died because their self-defense capabilities were poor and others were unwilling to help them.
Once their importance was discovered later on, people sought them out one after another to treat them like deities—though it was more like treating a bird in a cage. They received food, water, and stability, but completely lost their freedom.
Hu Xiaoxing’s situation was so special, and she was a young girl. It was hard to guarantee she could find a stable life in the apocalypse, but Lin Po could provide that, as long as he could bring her back to Xiping Village.
Lin Po said, “Xiaoxing, your ability is quite special. It isn’t useless; on the contrary, it is of great use.”
Hu Xiaoxing suddenly became happy and asked, “Really? Then can I help you, Brother?”
Lin Po nodded and said, “You will be a huge help to me.”
Hu Xiaoxing became visibly joyful, and even the gloom of being trapped in the room dissipated a bit.
Yun Zhuan came over and said, “We should go, or it will be completely dark soon.”
Lin Po looked out the window. The setting sun was already halfway below the horizon. He patted Hu Xiaoxing’s head and said, “Go say goodbye to your parents.”
Hu Xiaoxing had actually seen the two corpses at the door long ago. She didn’t want to admit those were her mom and dad; after all, her real parents were so gentle in her memories. However, she eventually walked over and looked at them carefully, as if trying to brand something deep into her mind.
The four of them went downstairs together. Lin Po carried Hu Xiaoxing on his back. When they got to the car, he let her sit in the front passenger seat, while Yun Zhuan stayed in the back with Duan Yunze.
Once the car doors were closed, Lin Po said, “I’m going to a place now that might be a bit dangerous. If you don’t want to go, I’ll find a place to settle you down first and come back for you once we’re done.”
Hu Xiaoxing shook her head vigorously and said, “No, I want to stay with Brother the whole time.”
Duan Yunze also said, “Let’s just go together so we can look out for each other. Phones probably don’t work anymore. If we get separated, trying to regroup would be harder than climbing to heaven.”
Yun Zhuan also agreed with them, so Lin Po had no further objections.
As the car drove out of the residential area, the roads became even more congested. Fortunately, the route Lin Po and the others needed to take wasn’t a main road. After twisting and turning along the way, they arrived safely at the scenic area.
Under the lingering glow of the sunset, they reached the lakeside where people usually went boating. The boats were all still there. Lin Po picked a large one, and the group began moving supplies into the cabin.
As Duan Yunze carried fresh corn and mangoes, he felt it was quite miraculous. He couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you get these? The quality is really good. You’re actually just giving them away?”
Lin Po spread his hands and said, “I can’t help it, I’m just that resourceful. Besides, I’m doing this to help my teacher and classmates; why would I worry about the price of the goods?”
Duan Yunze silently complained in his head. He really didn’t think Lin Po was the type of person who viewed money as dirt. After all, this man was too shrewd; everything in their dealings had been laid out very clearly.
Fortunately, Lin Po didn’t know what he was thinking, or he surely would have been kicked out of this small team long ago to fend for himself.