weddingnovel Chapter 2: Holy crap, there really are zombies!
Chapter 2: Holy crap, there really are zombies!
The heavy iron door to the stairwell was slowly pulled open, and a smell mixed with decay and mildew and a faint stench of blood wafted out.
Lu Yao had gotten used to the strange smell over the past two days, but she frowned as she stood at the door.
The hallway was brightly lit. Although it was the end of the world, the weather was undeniably good, with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.
But at this moment, the stairwell below was filled with torn paper scraps and scattered debris, which made a rustling sound when stepped on, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silent building.
Lu Yao held her breath, moved extremely lightly, and gripped her homemade spear tightly with both hands.
The arms wrapped in books looked a bit clumsy, but they could barely withstand biting and scratching. The helmet was pulled low, and the person was always on guard against the closed doors on both sides of the corridor.
The live stream chat quieted down considerably, with dozens of eyes fixed on Lu Yao's figure as he slowly moved forward.
[Patrick Star's friend: Watch your step! In these old residential buildings, many zombies like to hide in stairwell corners, passageways, or unlocked rooms.]
[Gale force 8: Putting on airs, I'll see if actors jump out and give an awkward performance later.]
[My favorite is Honey Sister's big waves: The atmosphere is amazing! This hallway is so eerie, my legs would go weak if I were in her shoes.]
[Grandmaster of Kunmen Kunquan: Wait, who's in charge of this camera? It's so damn steady! And looking at the streamer's figure going downstairs, it shouldn't be a robotic arm following him. Could this really be a doomsday livestream?]
[Gale force 8: It's fake, all fake! There will definitely be zombies appearing to scare us later, just waiting!]
Lu Yao's gaze quickly swept across the corridors floor by floor. Most of the doors were tightly closed, and the locks were rusted, making them difficult to force open in a short time.
Only a few doors were ajar, the gaps pitch black, like monsters lurking and ready to devour their prey.
His objective was clear: to prioritize searching upper and middle-class residents.
The room on the top floor with the door open had already been looted clean of supplies.
The lower level is close to the street, and the zombie density is too high; going down there rashly would be suicide.
Seventeenth floor.
Lu Yao placed a marker at the stairwell entrance and then carefully scanned the area of this floor.
At a glance, he saw a half-open door.
This was his first choice.
Those tightly closed doors are fraught with uncertainty; if you force your way through and alert the zombies, you'll be in trouble.
Reaching the doorway, he stretched out a hand and gently pressed it against the door panel, pushing it open a crack with a slight effort.
The fishy smell suddenly became several times stronger.
Lu Yao's heart clenched, and he immediately stopped moving, holding the spear horizontally in front of him, his whole body tense.
crunch--
Amidst the faint scraping sounds, a stiff figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the living room.
It was a female zombie, her clothes were tattered, and her long hair was covered with dark red, dried blood.
Its ashen face had bloodshot, lifeless eyes, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth. Its limbs swayed in a twisted and grotesque manner as it slowly approached the door.
It didn't roar, only made heavy, numb footsteps, each step treading on the tip of one's heart.
[Last night I visited the nunnery: Holy crap! There really are zombies!]
[One Radish: This makeup is amazing! It's almost like the zombies I've seen in movies. Give the makeup artist a bonus!]
[Gale force 8: What did I say? I told you there were actors! This is all fake!]
[Patrick Star's friend: Be careful, it's best not to let the zombies go berserk, otherwise if the commotion gets too big, you might not have time to escape back.]
[Gale force 8: Keep acting! I'll watch you keep acting. If I had a way to report you, I would have reported you bunch of scammers long ago!]
【…】
The zombies inside the building were more hidden and more difficult to deal with than those roaming the streets.
Lu Yao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he dared not back down.
Once you turn and run, the panicked commotion will easily attract the monsters lurking throughout the building, and the female zombie in front of you may pounce on you immediately.
You might end up giving him a passionate kiss.
He stared intently at the slowly approaching female zombie, constantly adjusting his breathing and lowering his center of gravity.
These past two days haven't just been about surviving hunger; facing a few lone zombies, he's already developed a certain amount of courage to fight for his life.
"Shut up, stop making a fuss, and stay put."
Lu Yao muttered something to himself to bolster his courage, his gaze fixed on the zombie's head.
Even if you've never eaten pork, you've surely seen a pig run, right?
As depicted in zombie movies, the only way to completely kill a zombie is to destroy its brain.
Presumably, the zombies of today are the same.
Three meters, two meters, one meter.
Just as the zombie reached out its rotting hand, about to grab the crack in the door, Lu Yao's eyes flashed, and he suddenly stepped to the side, thrusting out the spear with the fruit knife strapped to it!
"Pfft—"
The sharp blade plunged deep into the zombie's eye socket.
The rotting flesh was easily torn open, and dark, foul-smelling blood gushed out instantly.
He then suddenly turned the mop handle, allowing the fruit knife embedded in the zombie's eye socket to penetrate deeper and begin stirring.
The zombie abruptly stopped, its body convulsed violently, its crimson eyes quickly lost their luster, and its heavy body fell straight forward, crashing heavily to the floor, where it remained motionless.
The entire set of movements was crisp and clean, without any unnecessary delays.
Lu Yao quickly withdrew his spear, panting slightly, his back completely soaked with cold sweat.
"Damn it, I killed a zombie! It's all real in the movies, just shoot them in the head!"
Lu Yao smiled at the camera, his lips curling into a smug and triumphant grin: "Yesterday I was so scared of zombies I couldn't move, and today I'm killing zombies! Aren't I awesome?!"
[Patrick Star's friend: That's amazing! The anchor's hand movements are so steady; an ordinary person would have been terrified.]
Patrick Star's friend gifted the streamer a 'supercar'*1!
[A Radish: Speak up! Hey you, you raging wind, say something! If this is an actor, did the streamer commit murder?]
[Gale force 8: Don't you even know what props are? There are so many idiots.]
[Last night I visited a nunnery: I have a bad feeling about this streamer. Is this streamer really in a post-apocalyptic world? This livestream is some kind of high-tech marvel!]
【…】
After a brief rest, Lu Yao kicked aside the fallen zombie corpse and cautiously entered the room.
The living room was a mess, with furniture overturned and snack wrappers scattered all over the floor. Clearly, when the disaster struck, the owner of this place fled in panic and ultimately perished.
He quickly searched the kitchen and storage cabinets, and was lucky enough to find a few packets of instant noodles, a few unopened bottles of mineral water, and two packets of expired but still edible bread.
Lu Yao carefully stuffed the supplies into the simple cloth bag on his back and didn't linger.
This place is not safe to stay for long. Although the fighting is not very loud, no one can guarantee that it will not attract zombies from afar.
We can leave now. The supplies we found this time are enough for him to enjoy for two days.
Most importantly, he personally killed a zombie this time, and the excitement and thrill he felt were indescribable. This proved that he had taken a crucial step...