The sun reached the highest point of the blood-red sky, yet the light remained dim and oppressive.
After several hours of using her ability and physical strength to hunt zombies, Ruan Ning felt clearly exhausted, with most of her water energy drained.
She needed to find a safe place to rest and replenish her strength.
Her gaze swept along the street, landing on a 24-hour convenience store with a crooked sign and shattered glass doors. Such places usually held scattered supplies but also attracted zombies.
Ruan Ning tightened her grip on the machete and approached quietly.
Through the broken glass door, she could see inside the shelves were toppled and goods scattered on the floor, which was stained and dirty.
She cautiously peeked inside and saw a single zombie behind the counter, dressed in a convenience store uniform, back facing the door, shoulders slightly moving as it seemed to be gnawing on something.
Only one.
Without hesitation, Ruan Ning slipped inside like a ghost. She stepped on broken glass, producing a faint “crack” sound.
Though small, it was enough to alert the zombie.
It suddenly turned around, revealing a severely decayed face with eyeballs hanging out, dark red meat pulp around the mouth. It roared and lunged, its movements seemingly faster than ordinary zombies on the street.
Ruan Ning’s eyes narrowed, and instead of retreating, she advanced! At the moment the zombie pounced, she sidestepped smoothly, swinging the machete with a cold gleam in a precise horizontal slash!
Slice!
The blade cleanly cut through the zombie’s neck, its head rolling to the ground. The headless body shook briefly before collapsing onto a pile of scattered snacks.
After quickly eliminating the threat, Ruan Ning didn’t immediately search for supplies but first checked the entire convenience store.
Confirming no other zombies were hiding, she fixed her attention on the locked warehouse iron door at the back of the store.
The door had a lock but seemed violently damaged, with the latch bent. Ruan Ning pulled hard, and the iron door screeched loudly as it opened.
Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit, filled with some empty cardboard boxes and piled-up goods, covered in dust. The space was small but relatively enclosed, with only a high, small window fitted with an exhaust fan.
This place was much safer than the open store outside.
Ruan Ning shut the iron door loosely behind her and propped a heavy shelf against it from inside, creating a makeshift alarm device. Only then did she truly relax, sliding down to lean against the cold wall.
Fatigue crashed over her like a tide. She took out spring water and food from her space, sipping slowly to replenish energy. The cool spring water soothed her physical aches and mental tension.
Closing her eyes, she reviewed the details of using her ability that morning, thinking about how to improve water arrow condensation and reduce energy loss…
Suddenly, just as she relaxed for a moment—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of urgent, heavy impacts hammered the warehouse door from outside, accompanied by more than one fierce and desperate “ho-ho” roar!
Ruan Ning’s eyes snapped open, her body tensing like a spring as she grabbed the machete and a fire axe nearby!
She’d been discovered!
From the sounds, it was definitely more than one or two zombies.
Was it the noise from killing the store clerk zombie? Or had wandering zombies noticed her entry?
No time to think. The shelf propped against the door was violently shaken, and the iron door groaned under the pressure. Small dents appeared on the door panel!
The situation was critical!
This temporary refuge had instantly become a deadly trap!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts grew louder, the iron door bent and twisted, the shelf scraping against metal with a harsh noise, on the verge of being pushed open! Through the door cracks, she could already see the flickering of rotting arms wildly flailing!
She couldn’t be trapped here!
Ruan Ning’s gaze sharpened like a knife. Lightning-fast plans flashed through her mind. Forcing the door was unrealistic; the warehouse had no other exit. This door was the only way out—she had to fight through!
She took a deep breath, suppressing the rising blood pressure. The little water energy she’d just recovered began flowing rapidly inside her. She didn’t choose the heavy fire axe but gripped her machete with both hands, eyes locked on the precarious iron door.
“Come on!”
Just as the shelf was finally knocked away and the iron door burst open—
Three grotesque zombies squeezed inside! The stench was overwhelming, their roars deafening!
The cramped warehouse instantly filled!
Now was the moment!
Ruan Ning didn’t retreat; instead, she stepped forward to meet the first zombie. With all her strength, she swung her machete from bottom to top in a fierce slash!
Thud!
The blade plunged deep into the zombie’s chin, nearly splitting its head in half! Dirty blood splattered!
But the other two zombies were already very close, their withered arms almost grabbing her face!
At the critical moment, Ruan Ning suddenly pushed forward with her left hand!
Shhh—
A powerful stream of water burst forth from her palm like a high-pressure water jet! This was not a carefully formed water arrow, but an instantaneous explosive release of water energy, creating a strong impact force!
Bang!
Two zombies directly in front of her staggered from the sudden fierce water blast, their movements faltered, and chunks of their rotting flesh were washed away!
Although it didn’t cause fatal damage, this precious moment of hesitation gave Ruan Ning a crucial chance to catch her breath!
Without hesitation, her right hand swung the machete horizontally with the momentum!
Snap!
The left zombie’s neck was nearly sliced through, its roar turning into a leaking wheeze.
At the same time, she put all her strength into a sharp side kick with her right foot, striking hard at the right zombie’s knee joint!
Crack!
A clear sound of bone breaking! The zombie lost balance, screaming miserably as it fell to the side, crashing into a stack of empty boxes which toppled noisily.
In an instant, among the three zombies: one was dead, one injured, and one obstructed!
Ruan Ning pressed her advantage, giving the remaining two no chance to recover. Like a hunting leopard, she charged at the fallen zombie, machete radiating a decisive aura, slashing down fiercely!
Thud!
The blade precisely struck the zombie’s eye socket, smashing the brain tissue.
The last zombie, stunned by the water blast and still bleeding from its neck, had just regained its footing when Ruan Ning spun like a whirlwind, her blood-stained machete slicing a cold arc—
Slash!
The last remaining head flew off, smashing against the wall and rolling to the ground.
The warehouse instantly fell silent.
Only Ruan Ning’s slightly heavy breathing remained, along with three bodies on the floor still twitching slightly.
The overwhelming stench of blood and rot was almost suffocating.
Standing with her blade, chest rising and falling, she felt her nearly depleted energy and severely drained stamina.
That explosive moment just now—both the precise swordsmanship and the critical water blast—was nearly perfect, but also showed her limits.
She didn’t dare slack off, forcing down the discomfort, quickly dragging the three bodies to a corner and covering them somewhat with torn cardboard boxes, then roughly closing the distorted iron door and firmly propping it with a heavier shelf nearby.
Only after all this did she lean against the cold wall and slowly sit down.
She took out spring water from her space, drinking deeply, feeling the cool energy soothe her dry meridians and tired muscles.
Recalling the fight, Ruan Ning still felt a chill but more so an exhilaration from breaking through her limits.
“Water ability—even the simplest blast, when used at a critical moment, can turn the tide of battle!” she thought, looking at her left hand, which still seemed to vibrate from the water burst.
This time, she not only proved the practicality of her ability but also honed her reflexes and close-combat coordination under life-or-death pressure.
After resting for about half an hour and recovering most of her strength, Ruan Ning stood up.
She walked over to the three zombie bodies and expressionlessly began to search them.
Fortunately, inside the skull of the last zombie whose head she had chopped off, she found another pale white crystal core.
Putting the crystal away, Ruan Ning collected some of the intact packaged goods from the warehouse, leaving some for future survivors. After one last glance at the blood-stained warehouse, she pushed aside the obstacle without hesitation and walked out.