Chapter 20: Level Two Zombies

Chapter 20: Level Two Zombies

Unit 701, Building 12, Block 2, Huayuan New Mansion.

"31... huff 32... huff huff 33... ah~ 34... 35..."

Cao Kun had a cigarette in his mouth and was dribbling a basketball with one hand. He lazily leaned against the window, while behind him, Cao Zilong lay on the floor, legs together, hands crossed behind his head, face flushed as he did sit-ups.

He took a labored breath and shouted, "36..."

Downstairs, a stretched Benz V260L pulled into the parking area opposite their building. A tall man in a suit, about 1.9 meters tall, got out of the car, and a group of people rushed not to their own unit but to the neighboring one.

This wasn't the first time. Cao Kun noticed that Wang Wei would often take a batch of subordinates out in the car, usually returning several hours later. Most times, they would bring large packages upstairs, sometimes even bringing people back. The group frequently moved between the neighboring units, and the number of people following Wang Wei kept increasing.

Cao Kun was lost in thought when Cao Zilong, behind him, finally couldn't hold it any longer and pleaded, "I can't do it anymore... please spare me! My hands are cramping..."

Cao Kun tossed the basketball at Cao Zilong.

"Ouch!!" Cao Zilong's posture instantly broke; he arched his back, holding his stomach and the basketball that hit it, yelling, "Damn it, Cao Kun, you almost hit my balls!"

"Tsk tsk," Cao Kun said with a sinister smile. "Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson."

Cao Zilong hesitated for a second but then remembered his male dignity.

A man can be killed but not humiliated!

Cao Kun's lips curled slightly. His lips were naturally shadowed, giving him a perpetual smirk. There was a dimple on his left cheek, which was rarely visible. At this moment, with a cigarette in his mouth, he looked a bit mischievous.

Cao Kun beckoned him with his index finger. "Come on."

Cao Zilong roared and jumped up from the ground, charging over with great momentum!

Suddenly, a loud thud came from outside.

Shenchi opened the door. Across the hall, the door was wide open, and a tall, muscular man was pinning another bare-chested man to the ground. Both heads turned toward him upon hearing the noise.

"You guys continue." Shenchi retreated and closed the door.

Cao Kun and Cao Zilong simultaneously reached out their hands. "—Wait!"

Cao Kun pushed himself up with one hand and stood up. Cao Zilong was still groaning on the ground. Cao Kun stylishly ran a hand through his hair and called out to Shenchi, "Hey neighbor, your food smells amazing. Mind sharing some with me?"

The only response was the sound of the door slamming shut.

Cao Kun's face darkened.

Cao Zilong initially felt a surge of joy, but then realized he would have to eat his own terrible cooking again and immediately felt dejected.

More than a week passed without any sudden zombie transformations. People worked from dawn till dusk rebuilding after the disaster. The military erected thick barbed wire fences around Jiu Zhou City, and defensive fortifications were under construction. Although food was rationed, there was never a shortage. News broadcasts focused on positive stories and occasionally featured amusing events to lighten the mood of the tense audience.

It seemed the world was gradually returning to its former prosperity.

On August 25th, 2208, at 1:40 PM, a deafening explosion echoed from the western sky, followed by intense gunfire. Sirens blared throughout Jiu Zhou City.

The neighborhood loudspeakers repeatedly urged residents to quickly enter the air-raid shelters, maintain order, and take care of the elderly, weak, and women, awaiting further instructions.

This situation had been practiced on the 17th and 24th, so the residents remained calm and orderly as they entered the shelters.

Shenchi put on his windbreaker, carefully securing straps around his wrists and ankles. In his previous life, he awakened his spatial ability on this day. This time, his spatial ability had already manifested, but there was no sign of his fire ability. He needed to prepare for the possibility that his fire ability might not awaken and focus on killing zombies to obtain crystals and upgrade his spatial ability.

Shenchi: "Let's go."

Xia Yi followed, wearing the same windbreaker as Shenchi. He carried a lightweight crossbow, with a backpack on his back, two quivers on either side, each containing ten triangular arrows. A dagger was strapped to his thigh.

His slender figure was now covered with a thin layer of muscle from intense training over the past week. His hair was cut shorter, giving him an air of a martial hero entering the world.

The crossbow and arrows were acquired by Shenchi when collecting meat supplies in the countryside. Many locals were hunters, so Shenchi bought them directly from them. Although the quantity was limited due to the crossbow's slow reloading speed and flight speed, its ease of use, high accuracy, long range, and readily available materials made it a popular choice in the early days of the apocalypse.

Not everyone had access to guns.

As a doctor, Xia Yi occasionally went to the gym but wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it. His main hobby was reading, and he only occasionally played darts. With excellent eyesight, Shenchi decided to modify his training plan and include the previously unused crossbow in daily practice.

Cao Kun glanced at Shenchi, then at Xia Yi, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He shook his head and chuckled, "Looks like I'm really not cut out to be a teacher."

Shenchi glanced at the slight bulge at Cao Kun's waist, then turned and headed downstairs.

Cao Kun grinned, grabbed the cowering Cao Zilong, and said, "Follow me."

Cao Zilong clung to the door, struggling frantically. "Don't drag me! I don't want to go! Let me go! I don't want to go!!"

Cao Kun turned and smiled at Cao Zilong. "Go or I'll break your wings. Choose."

Intense gunfire erupted at the West Gate. As the four arrived, the machine gun fire suddenly stopped, followed by an even fiercer assault.

They parked at the roadblock. Cao Kun dragged Cao Zilong out of the car, and a guard approached them, warning them not to proceed.

The signal tower at the West Gate had collapsed, and the surrounding barbed wire fences had been breached at multiple points. Surveillance cameras spun wildly, and a horde of zombies was held back, causing immense pressure that eventually brought down the fences.

An abrupt explosion rang out. Shenchi and Cao Kun simultaneously pulled those nearby to the ground as debris rained down on them.

Shenchi shook his head, and a man in combat gear, covered in blood, stumbled out and lay on the ground, moaning. Xia Yi quickly crawled over to check on him.

The man had numerous minor wounds, the most severe being a broken arm with jagged edges and shrapnel embedded in the flesh.

Xia Yi hurriedly took out a medical kit from his backpack, tore off some gauze, and tied it above the wound. He then skillfully cleaned the wound with tweezers, disinfected it, stopped the bleeding, and wrapped it with bandages.

The man showed remarkable endurance and managed to thank Xia Yi despite his condition.

Two soldiers ran over, their eyes red upon seeing the man. They took out a folding stretcher from their packs, lifted the man onto it, and watched Xia Yi's skilled actions anxiously. "You're a doctor, right? We need more doctors and nurses in the base. Please help save my brother!"

Now, there are far too few medical personnel in the combat zone. The entire Jiu Zhou City can't even spare one person. Moreover, with the whole world fighting these monsters, there's no need to worry about leaks of confidential information on the military front.

Xia Yi looked at the unconscious patient and knew that with such severe injuries, he would die from excessive blood loss within ten minutes. He turned to Shenchi for his opinion. Ever since accepting Shenchi's conditions, Xia Yi had been consulting him on matters.

Shenchi furrowed his brows; he was somewhat displeased with Xia Yi's behavior but knew this was the best way to enter the heart of the battlefield.

Seeing Shenchi nod, Xia Yi looked at the two soldiers and then at the man on the stretcher whose eyes were half-closed. "First, I must clarify: I am an obstetrician, but I will do my best to save you. Do you trust me?"

The two soldiers were momentarily stunned; they hadn't expected the doctor they finally found to specialize in delivering babies.

However, the man on the stretcher softly said, "I trust you."

Any help is better than none. Seeing this, the two soldiers nodded as well.

"Hurry! Carry him inside!" Xia Yi picked up the bow lying nearby and ran towards the base with them.

The soldiers, while carrying the man, still warned the remaining three, "You should go back! It's dangerous here, not a place for playing around!"

"Bang!"

Another explosion rang out, and a swift figure burst out from the combat zone, chased by countless bullets firing at the escaping zombie.

The soldier changed his tone, "Forget it, follow us quickly!"

The soldiers carried the man into a makeshift, rudimentary medical room. Cao Zilong volunteered, "I'll stay behind to protect him!"

Cao Kun sneered, "Just don't run away when you see a zombie." This area was a critical junction between the front lines and the rear, and given the situation, security needed to be taken seriously.

After splitting up, Shenchi and Cao Kun quickly followed the sound of gunfire.

They certainly wouldn't rush directly into the combat zone. According to Shenchi's plan, he was only there to kill the upcoming second-level zombie.

The West Gate was a residential area. Even though they had moved the combat zone one kilometer away, it wasn't suitable for the troops to use highly destructive weapons.

As soon as they reached their position, they saw a zombie, moving faster than anyone could comprehend, pounce on the machine gunner behind the barricade and bare its fangs!

The machine gunner screamed as blood splattered everywhere!

Moments later, the machine gunner staggered to his feet and lunged at his comrade beside him!

Shenchi and Cao Kun rushed over first.

The zombie, which had flown through the breach, paused, seemingly sensing more delicious prey, and twisted its body to charge at the two with incredible speed.

Cao Kun kicked out but missed. The zombie headed straight for Shenchi, and Cao Kun swung his military knife at another zombie that could easily claim the title of "world's fastest runner."

Zombies continued pouring through the breached gap. A sergeant rushed forward, set up the machine gun, and used his body to block the breach, continuously firing at the incoming horde.

Soon, the sergeant fell motionless, and another soldier took his place, the pain of being bitten failing to extinguish the burning will in his heart!

The sun scorched the earth, turning the city into a fiery inferno where everything was ablaze. You could clearly see the 'flames' undulating in the air like layers of water silk.

Sweat and blood made it hard to grip the guns; some simply tied cloth strips around their hands and weapons.

Shenchi killed two first-level zombies in quick succession, thrusting a grabber into one's forehead with his left hand while simultaneously swinging his right hand to sever another ordinary zombie's neck. In the next moment, Shenchi was tackled to the ground by a zombie in the chaotic mud.

"Ugh..."

His side hit a hard stone, causing him to clutch his stomach with one hand while pinning the zombie's jaw shut with the other to prevent it from biting.

This zombie was unexpectedly strong, its weight crushing him entirely.

The zombie pulled its deeply embedded nails out of the stone and lunged at Shenchi. Shenchi was startled—there it was, the second-level zombie!

Author's note:

Thank you, "Erxi Jiang," for your nutrient solution. Muah~