Startled awake, Su Li felt dampness on his back and scrambled to his feet, only to realize the floor around him was increasingly wet, with half of the quilt he had spread out soaked through. Though he had blocked the windows with a cabinet and bed, faint light still seeped in, brightening the room considerably—clearly, it was already broad daylight outside.
The knocking at the door grew louder, a violent thudding against the security door in the living room. Su Li’s heart tightened. He picked up the kitchen knife and hammer, opened the bedroom door, and stepped into the living room. Sunlight streamed in from the balcony opposite, lifting some of the gloom in his heart and even easing his original fear.
Watching the security door tremble, Su Li couldn’t help gripping the knife and hammer tighter. The thing pounding on the door must be a zombie. He had already obtained four spirit sources; just one more would bring him to 5/5. What change would that bring? He secretly hoped the creature outside was a zombie.
Peering through the peephole of the security door, he looked out. Then he gasped. Through the peephole, he saw the long corridor outside filled with figures—at least seven or eight at a glance. Men and women, old and young, all dripping wet, their faces pale and swollen, staring with lifeless, unblinking fish eyes, their expressions blank and devoid of vitality. These were all zombies.
Su Li never expected so many zombies to be gathered in the corridor. Among them, he spotted a familiar face—a relatively young woman, the stylishly dressed neighbor next door. He had seen her a few times but never knew her name. Seeing her now among the zombies, wandering the corridor, a wave of indescribable sorrow surged within him. Though he had encountered several zombies before, he hadn’t known them, so the feeling wasn’t strong. But now, seeing someone he once knew dead and turned into a monster, something clogged his heart—a painful, heavy sensation.
The security door shook violently from the pounding. These zombies were incredibly strong, battering it relentlessly. Su Li felt ice-cold. Through the peephole, he saw they weren’t just attacking his door but also the door of the young woman’s former apartment next door. The door of the young couple’s place was open, so zombies occasionally wandered in and out, moving like restless spirits.
“What do I do? So many monsters…” Su Li’s scalp tingled as he stepped back, glancing at the balcony. Though the zombies might struggle to break through the security door, if they were clever enough, they could enter through the water and then climb in through the windows. At that thought, he hurriedly dragged the living room sofa over. With his arms now capable of lifting at least three or four hundred pounds, moving the sofa was easy. He wedged it against the balcony window—not a perfect barrier, but better than nothing. Then he moved the coffee table, propping it upright in the bathroom to block the small window there.
“Even if it doesn’t hold, I’ll hear them if they break in. The worst would be them sneaking in without me noticing—that’s the real danger.” Su Li moved everything he could to block the windows, covering them all. After finishing, he was drenched in sweat, and suddenly noticed the pounding on the corridor door had stopped.
He rushed over and peered through the peephole again. The corridor was empty, only the floor wet. The zombies that had been battering the door were gone.
*Thump.* Suddenly, the sofa blocking the balcony shook. “Here they come.” Su Li’s heart tightened, but a flicker of anticipation stirred. A pale, swollen hand reached over the top of the sofa. He charged forward, pressing his body hard against the sofa. Soon, a second hand emerged from the window, gripping the sofa. Then came a fierce impact, the force growing stronger. Su Li couldn’t hold it back; the sofa, along with him, was shoved aside as a soaking-wet zombie crawled in. Behind it, more zombies were squeezing through.
Su Li swung the kitchen knife, aiming at the first zombie’s head. Even knowing he couldn’t withstand so many, he had no choice but to fight desperately—maybe there was a slim chance. He was just one spirit source short of five. According to the information in his mind, reaching five spirit sources might trigger some change. That was his only hope of survival. If he was wrong, or if the change wasn’t what he needed, he would die here today. One-on-one, or even two-on-one, he might have a chance, but against a horde, he had no way out.
The zombie reacted swiftly, twisting its body and raising its right arm to shield its head from the descending knife. The zombie’s only fatal weakness was its head; injuries elsewhere didn’t matter. The knife sank deep into the raised arm, and Su Li’s hammer followed, smashing into the zombie’s forehead. From yesterday to now, he had killed four zombies. They were growing stronger, but so was he—from frantic fumbling to gaining some experience. He had deliberately swung the knife first, expecting the zombie to dodge or block it, while his real killing blow was the hammer. This time, he guessed right. The zombie blocked the knife but couldn’t avoid the hammer.
Su Li put all his strength into that blow. The zombie’s forehead split open with a sharp crack of bone, blood and white matter spraying out. The zombie pitched forward heavily and fell. Right behind it, two more zombies charged in madly. The sofa toppled over at the same time. Su Li looked at the balcony window—outside, zombies were gathering, at least five or six at a glance. He gasped, his lungs constricting, his spine chilled.