The plants flourished, with the pothos showing the most obvious growth.
Its main body was still in Unit 16-1, but at some point, it had reached the first floor faster than any of the other “kindergarten kids.” While its classmates were still waiting for takeout, its roots had already taken hold in the soil and made their way to the green belt outside the building, foraging on its own.
It didn’t join the every-other-day zombie feasts. Instead, it consumed all the seemingly useless waste around Building 7, shattered glass from windows blown down by strong winds, dead trees and withered grass without life, household trash thrown down by survivors in the early days of the apocalypse, and all sorts of mosquitoes and flies.
Fu Erdie was busy every day luring zombies and documenting the internal and external conditions of Building 7. She noticed that the pothos had grown so large it had practically taken over the entire 16th floor. Every time she watered the millet in Unit 16-7, it gestured and complained about not getting enough sunlight.
Of course, she also noticed the changes downstairs.
She genuinely felt that the pothos had earned its place as the leader of the kindergarten.
While the other kids were still in the sunlit room on the eighth floor, proud of their new growth mechanisms, their leader had already ventured out to explore.
Fu Erdie mischievously chose not to show the younger plants where the pothos was downstairs.
So, when the younger plants finished off the zombies in Building 6 at the end of October, they finally noticed there was a tree in the garden below.
And that tree looked an awful lot like a pothos.
The succulent on the second floor, which had been showing off and thinking it was about to take over as the leader thanks to its prime location: ?
The cucumber and tomato, still locked in their never-ending battle: ??
The spider plant, often bossed around by the leader and desperately fighting for zombie scraps: ???
Are you even human?
No, you’re not human!
And so, in this lively atmosphere, October came to an end.
In the middle of it all, a small incident occurred: a car trying to leave the city had a blowout at the entrance of the neighborhood.
A bloodied figure crawled out of the vehicle. After failing to start any of the other abandoned cars nearby, the person entered the neighborhood gates.
He didn’t come to Building 7, and Fu Erdie didn’t pay him any mind. By now, he had likely become part of the zombie horde.
November. Having finished off the zombies in Building 6, Fu Erdie set her sights on Building 5.
The first day went smoothly.
But on the second day, she had a strong sense of being watched.
She dismissed it as her imagination and went about her usual routine, luring thirty zombies back as usual.
But that night, as she lay in bed, the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
Lately, with no mutated zombies or ability users causing trouble, she had grown too comfortable. Every day, she tended to her plants, and if not for the lack of a cat to pet or a bird to walk, she might as well have been retired.
She had never encountered this feeling in Building 6. So why would she feel such a stark difference the moment she moved from Building 6 to Building 5?
An ordinary zombie’s gaze wouldn’t have triggered such a strong sense of danger.
Fu Erdie stopped going out and spent her days observing Building 5 from home.
She suspected that the bloodied survivor was watching from the shadows.
To be so severely wounded and yet survive, hiding out in Building 5, which was teeming with zombies, it was clear he was a formidable ability user.
But Fu Erdie wasn’t afraid.
Even if she couldn’t win, she could always hide.
Injured as he was, there was no way he could bypass the horde of zombies and come after her.
Still, to be safe, she stayed indoors for the next few days, quietly observing the situation outside.
There was no movement from Building 5.
Instead of waiting any longer, Fu Erdie changed her strategy and decided to lure zombies from Building 8 instead.
She also gave the pothos a task.
“See that building?” she said, pointing to Building 6. “The zombies in there have mostly been cleared out, but there should still be plenty of supplies inside. Go over first, help yourself to whatever you like, and act as the vanguard to claim that area. Then, we can move in and have more space to operate!”
The pothos bent its leaves in a nod.
Fu Erdie patted its “head” and turned toward Building 8.
Luring zombies was second nature to her now. She knew with her eyes closed how to attract a specific number without making too much noise.
But the uncomfortable feeling of being watched never went away.
It peaked on November 17th.
She was almost certain the ability user was starving. If it weren’t for the zombies surrounding him, keeping him pinned down, he would have charged out and devoured her.
Annoyed, Fu Erdie grew impatient with luring zombies. She brought back only a dozen or so.
On the 19th, a light rain began to fall.
Fu Erdie put on a hat and went out to lure zombies as usual.
The temperature had dropped slightly in recent days, hovering around 25 degrees during the day.
Compared to previous years, November was still quite warm.
But compared to the seemingly endless summer since the apocalypse began, it now felt comfortable, even normal.
What was comfortable for humans was also comfortable for zombies.
Fu Erdie stood at the entrance of Building 8, unwilling to linger in the rain. She figured she’d wait a few minutes and take whatever came out.
The axe in her hand was slightly rusted, the damp metal carrying a scent of iron, like blood.
Absentmindedly, she rubbed the handle, her gaze drifting toward Building 5.
That’s when she saw it, a red dot.
A sniper scope?!
Fu Erdie’s pupils contracted. In the next instant, she ducked.
A deafening gunshot echoed in the distance. The bullet streaked toward her, slicing through the rain in a cold arc just above her head.
Fu Erdie was both startled and furious.
So this person wasn’t an ability user at all, they had somehow gotten their hands on a gun and were out here trying to kill her!
Before she could finish cursing in her head, a clear yet slightly hoarse voice came through a loudspeaker from Building 5.
“Stay down.”
Fu Erdie: ???
Like hell she’d listen! Why would she stay still and give them a clear shot?
But the suppressing fire made it impossible to get up. The main problem was that the shooter’s aim was terrible, every shot landed behind her. A perfect human outline artist.
… Wait. Behind her?
She turned her head to look behind her and saw, to her shock, a zombie less than a meter away!
The sniper’s bullets struck its head one after another.
But its skull seemed to be made of something tougher than steel, each shot only pushed it back half a step, failing to penetrate.
Fu Erdie had just been thinking the shooter’s aim was terrible, but now she realized it was actually too good.
Even as the zombie staggered back and shook its head, every single bullet hit the exact center of its skull, right where the crystal core would be. Not a single shot missed, not a single shot was off-target.
Fu Erdie finally understood: the first shot, which had seemed aimed at her, was actually targeting the zombie behind her. With marksmanship like this, hitting her had never been the intention. They had saved her instead.
She found a direction and crawled forward as fast as she could.
Furious from the gunfire, the zombie grew even more enraged when it saw its prey trying to escape. Ignoring the bullets, it lunged and grabbed Fu Erdie by the ankle.
She flipped over, facing up, and swung her axe at the zombie’s head.
With a dull thud, the axe head struck the back of the zombie’s skull, snapping off the wooden handle and clattering to the ground. The handle was left covered in cracks.
This mutated zombie was strong.
It was on a completely different level from the speed-type zombie she had faced before.
Its defense was astonishing, not even bullets or axes could pierce it. And its strength was terrifying; the hand gripping her ankle felt like it was about to crush her bones.
Fu Erdie kicked at the zombie with all her strength, but it was like scratching an itch, she couldn’t budge it.
The bullets, which had been targeting the zombie’s head, shifted to its arm, managing to free her foot.
The mutated zombie shook its arm and lunged at Fu Erdie with even more ferocity.
It was too fast. With her injured foot, she couldn’t escape.
She raised the axe handle to her neck, trying to block the zombie’s fangs.
Given the massive difference in strength, a piece of rotten wood was useless.
Fu Erdie knew that. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the knife at her waist, intending to stab the zombie’s eyes the moment it pounced.
Then, a blur flashed past.
The zombie was sent flying, crashing into a tree ten meters away and snapping it in half, sending up a cloud of dust.
Before Fu Erdie could process what had happened, the blur charged into the dust cloud. The sound of heavy blows and metallic scraping echoed through the sparse grove.
Fu Erdie knew this was a fight she had no part in. She immediately got up and, despite her nearly shattered ankle, sprinted toward Building 7.
The pothos, already aware of the situation, had stretched its vines as far as it could toward her. When she reached it, it wrapped around her injured ankle for support while two leaves tucked under her armpits, lifting her slightly to reduce the weight on her foot and helping her hurry home.
What had once felt like a short distance now seemed impossibly long as she fled for her life.
She could hear the zombie’s enraged roars and the sounds of it drawing closer.
Each time it came near, another attack would cut it off, forcing it to turn back.
Fu Erdie steeled herself and kept running toward Building 7 without looking back.
By the time she reached the entrance, her injured ankle could no longer support her. She collapsed onto the doorstep, stretching her leg out to ease the pain.
As she pressed on her leg to assess the damage, she glanced toward Building 8.
Everything was moving too fast, she couldn’t make out what was happening.
Her fingers dug into her leg, her brow furrowed.
She didn’t know who this suddenly appeared super-powered zombie and ability user were, but one thing was clear.
Their fight would decide her fate, and the lives of everyone in Building 7.
What could she do?
Her view was blocked.
Nearby zombies, drawn by the commotion, were closing in.