Huo Mian effortlessly took several apples from the refrigerator. As she turned to leave, the corner of her eye caught a strange glint.
She stopped and looked up, realizing it was the reflection of metal.
After a moment’s thought, Huo Mian walked over. When she got closer, she found a kitchen knife. There was also a watermelon knife on the knife rack.
Delighted, Huo Mian took out the watermelon knife and examined it in her hand.
The watermelon knife was about thirty-five centimeters long. Excluding the handle, the blade was a little over twenty centimeters.
Unfortunately, the knife had no pointed tip and was only suitable for chopping.
Huo Mian wasn’t picky about it. In the apocalypse, finding a weapon like this was already incredibly lucky.
Carrying the watermelon knife, she walked out of the kitchen in high spirits.
Xu Mingfan was chewing on the sickeningly sweet bread, looking rather listless.
Hearing Huo Mian’s footsteps, he looked up, his attention immediately drawn to the watermelon knife in her hand.
Xu Mingfan quickly put the bread down on the coffee table, stood up, and walked over.
“Xiao Mian, are there any other long blades in the kitchen?”
Huo Mian shook her head. “No, but there are quite a few kitchen knives. Do you want one?”
Xu Mingfan looked disappointed. He pursed his lips. “A kitchen knife isn’t even as good as the spear I made.”
Seeing his dejected expression, Huo Mian reminded him, “Once your ability recovers, you can make yourself a big blade!”
Hearing this, Xu Mingfan immediately perked up like a rooster injected with adrenaline, his confidence returning.
“You’re right, Xiao Mian. When the time comes, I’m going to make a huge, gleaming blade.”
He paused, then declared boldly, “What kind do you want? I’ll make one for you.”
Huo Mian’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes lit up slightly.
“I like Tang swords.”
Xu Mingfan patted his chest confidently.
“Don’t worry, Xiao Mian. Consider it done.
“Once my ability recovers, I’ll definitely make you a one-of-a-kind Tang sword. Then you’ll be able to chop zombies as easily as cutting carrots.”
The corners of Huo Mian’s lips curled into a smile.
“Then I’ll be waiting.”
As she spoke, she handed the apples in her hand to Xu Mingfan.
Xu Mingfan took the apples enthusiastically and began munching on one…
After eating their fill, Huo Mian returned to the dressing room and came back carrying two backpacks.
She packed some high-calorie foods into the backpacks, along with two bottles of water.
Xu Mingfan wasn’t particularly fond of these sweet foods, but thinking about their future living conditions, he lowered his head and started packing anyway.
Following Huo Mian’s example, he stuffed chocolates, cookies, bread, and other foods into his backpack.
Xu Mingfan also used the two golf clubs and several kitchen knives as materials to modify his spear.
The spearhead was longer than before, while the shaft was wrapped in a layer of metal, greatly increasing its destructive power.
Although he really wanted to have a large blade immediately, unfortunately, his ability hadn’t recovered yet.
And since he was eager to get to F University to find his younger sister, Xu Wanluo, his plan to make a blade would have to be put on hold for now.
Once they had finished getting everything ready, Xu Mingfan pulled his phone out of his pocket and discovered that it was already eleven in the morning.
His brows furrowed slightly, a hint of worry flashing through his eyes as he turned toward Huo Mian.
“Xiao Mian, let’s go.”
Huo Mian nodded. “Okay.”
As soon as she spoke, she picked up the backpack from the sofa and slung it over her shoulders. Then she grabbed the watermelon knife from the coffee table and followed Xu Mingfan toward the front door.
Xu Mingfan cautiously opened the door and poked his head out to look around. There were no zombies in the hallway, so he stepped out of the apartment.
Seeing how alert Xu Mingfan was, Huo Mian became nervous as well. She followed quietly behind him.
Once they entered the emergency stairwell, the light suddenly dimmed. Only a few faint rays filtered through the stairwell windows, barely outlining the passageway.
Huo Mian’s heart leaped into her throat, and she gripped the watermelon knife tightly with both hands.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any zombies along the way and safely reached the underground parking garage.
Because the power was out, the garage was pitch-black.
Xu Mingfan took out his phone and switched on the flashlight, illuminating a small area ahead.
Huo Mian followed beside him as the two cautiously made their way toward the Xu family’s parking spot.
When they were still more than ten meters from the car, a tall figure suddenly entered their line of sight.
It was a tall zombie wearing a security guard’s uniform. It was wandering around aimlessly.
Huo Mian reached out and tugged on Xu Mingfan’s sleeve, signaling for him to hide and avoid the zombie.
However, before they could make a move, the zombie seemed to sense something and quickly charged toward them.
Xu Mingfan immediately threw his backpack onto the ground and handed his phone to Huo Mian.
His voice was urgent.
“Xiao Mian, hold on to this and light the way for me.”
Huo Mian quickly slipped off her backpack and took the phone, following closely behind him.
After killing two zombies, Xu Mingfan had become much braver, and his confidence had soared. Gripping his spear, he charged straight toward the zombie.
Huo Mian jogged after him, holding the phone high in her left hand to provide light while gripping the watermelon knife in her right.
Within seconds, Xu Mingfan reached the zombie. He raised the spear with both hands and thrust it forcefully toward the zombie’s forehead.
The zombie displayed astonishing agility, quickly tilting its head to evade the fatal blow.
It stretched out its claws and swiped at Xu Mingfan, its sharp nails grazing past his neck.
A look of panic flashed across Xu Mingfan’s face. He hurriedly retreated, putting some distance between himself and the zombie.
Seeing Xu Mingfan continuously backing away, Huo Mian realized that standing behind him would only hinder his movements.
Besides, if Xu Mingfan fought the zombie alone for too long, he might attract other zombies.
She gritted her teeth, stepped to the side, and quietly began circling around to the zombie’s back, intending to launch a surprise attack.
Xu Mingfan dodged another attack from the zombie, his expression turning grim.
He had already thrust his spear at the zombie’s head three times in a row, yet it had dodged every single attack.
Xu Mingfan ground his teeth in frustration as he remembered the two zombies he had killed earlier, especially the female zombie.
It had seemed almost conscious, instinctively protecting its fatal weak point.
Attacking other parts of a zombie’s body was much easier than attacking its head, and once a zombie was injured, its movements became significantly slower.
With that thought, Xu Mingfan gripped his spear and suddenly thrust it toward the zombie’s chest.
“Pfft!”
The spear pierced the zombie’s chest.
Before Xu Mingfan could react, the zombie let out a high-pitched roar and violently swung its claws.
Xu Mingfan was sent flying along with his spear, his body crashing heavily onto the ground five meters away.
Huo Mian’s eyes widened in shock, and her face instantly went pale. Her grip on the watermelon knife tightened unconsciously.
Seeing the zombie walking toward Xu Mingfan, she gritted her teeth and quietly crept around behind it.
Huo Mian quickly raised the watermelon knife and was just about to slash at the back of the zombie’s neck.
The zombie seemed to sense something. Its steps suddenly stopped, and it abruptly turned around.
Huo Mian was startled so badly that her hand jerked. Instinctively, she swung the knife at the zombie’s neck.
The blade struck bone with a sharp clack.
But the bones in the zombie’s neck were extremely hard, and Huo Mian failed to sever it with a single blow.
The zombie immediately let out an enraged roar, opening its mouth wide to reveal a row of sharp teeth.
Its milky-white eyes locked onto Huo Mian as it lunged at her.
Huo Mian’s strike had landed, so she immediately retreated in panic, narrowly avoiding the zombie’s sharp claws.
The zombie seemed to have fixated on Huo Mian as its target and relentlessly pursued her.
At the same time, Xu Mingfan rubbed the back of his head and painfully struggled to get up from the ground.
Seeing the zombie attacking Huo Mian, he endured the soreness throughout his body and quickly slipped behind it.
He had no idea what Huo Mian had done to the zombie to drive it into such a frenzy, but it was attacking her without regard for anything else.
Even after he had made his way behind the zombie, it paid no attention to him.
A sharp glint flashed in Xu Mingfan’s eyes as he thrust his spear forward with all his strength.
“Pfft!”
The spear successfully pierced the back of the zombie’s head.
Immediately afterward, the corpse slowly collapsed forward.
Huo Mian had been running from the zombie until she was gasping for breath. She glanced back and saw the zombie suddenly fall.
She froze for a moment, then slowly stopped and turned toward Xu Mingfan, still shaken from the ordeal.
Xu Mingfan walked up to her and asked with concern, “Xiao Mian, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
Xu Mingfan’s face fell, and he sounded utterly miserable.
“I’m not fine. Quickly, check the back of my head. I think it’s bleeding again.”
With that, he crouched down with practiced ease and presented the back of his head to Huo Mian.
Huo Mian raised the phone to shine the light on it.
Sure enough, it was bleeding.
It was the same spot as before, though the wound was a little larger this time.
The corner of Huo Mian’s mouth twitched helplessly.
She wondered if Xu Mingfan had somehow offended the gods of bad luck today. He had injured the exact same spot three times in one day.
She efficiently activated her healing ability. It took about a minute before the wound completely healed.
The two didn’t linger there, afraid that other zombies might suddenly emerge. They grabbed their backpacks and got into the car.
Xu Mingfan started the car with practiced ease and drove toward the exit of the parking garage.