Chapter 13: First Blood

"Opportunities are fleeting, get ready!"

Zhang Su looked out through the peephole, his hand on the doorknob, poised to strike.

"Wait, wait..."

Zheng Xinyu saw Zhang Su about to open the door right after giving instructions and was so scared she stumbled over her words. She meant to say "wait" twice, but due to trembling, it turned into six or seven times...

"What’s the matter now?"

Zhang Su looked at Zheng Xinyu impatiently.

Zheng Xinyu clenched her fist, pounding on her wildly beating heart, and said, "Get mentally prepared!"

"Come on, we can do this well!"

While Zhang Su was cheering on Zheng Xinyu, he was also quietly encouraging himself.

He had been in many fights before, even planned cage matches, but facing zombies...

For the first time in his life, failure meant death. Although the chances of failing were slim, it didn’t stop the tension and fear in his heart.

Zhang Su felt his mouth go dry. Even in the cold snap’s temperature, beads of sweat broke out on his back, and his hand on the axe handle was wet. Thankfully, the handle had an anti-slip design, so it wouldn’t slip from sweat.

He took a deep breath, made a three-finger gesture to Zheng Xinyu, then two, and finally one!

Click.

As the zombie pounded, Zhang Su unlocked the door, silently pressed down the handle, and pushed the door open!

Behind him, Zheng Xinyu, who held a baseball bat, felt her heart leap to her throat.

"Oh my god, I’m scared of cockroaches, and now I have to kill zombies, this is crazy, absolutely crazy!"

Zheng Xinyu muttered in her mind, watching as the door slowly opened, the sound of hitting door 802 echoing in her ears, shaking her heart. Her knuckles gripping the bat turned white.

Along with the sound, a strong scent of blood invaded the room, unsettling everyone. It felt like sensitivity to this smell was encoded in DNA—whenever it spread, it often indicated injury or death.

Zhang Su’s face was unprecedentedly serious, lowering his body in a bent stance, signaling Zheng Xinyu to follow, and started towards the zombie.

The cries for help in 802 had already ceased; the relentless zombies didn’t stop pounding. The thumping sound was like war drums, striking the hearts of Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu.

The distance from 801 to 802 was only five or six meters, yet Zhang Su felt like it took him almost a century. When he got within a meter of the zombie, his heart rate probably hit 150!

Howl, groan.

While still hitting the security door, the zombie let out beast-like cries. Its right arm’s movements affected its whole body, causing the left hand to swing the arm it held back and forth. White bone fragments were clearly visible—a truly gory sight.

Zhang Su didn’t turn to look at Zheng Xinyu’s state; he couldn’t take his eyes off the zombie. After making a chopping gesture with his left hand, he boldly raised the hand axe.

The black axe blade shimmered coldly, sharp enough to sever hair.

Zhang Su imagined the scene of the zombie’s head splitting open under the axe, fearful yet relentless!

Clang.

But just as Zhang Su raised his arm, a crisp metallic sound rang out.

The short axe and the baseball bat collided...

Howl...

The zombie stopped pounding the door, its arm rigid, but its head turned quickly!

Six eyes met.

Even the zombie didn’t expect two audacious humans to suddenly appear behind it. Surprisingly, it was momentarily dazed, and its already mutated, large nostrils expanded further, as if collecting scents.

In an instant, the space seemed to freeze.

The eyes are the window to the soul. Zhang Su stared directly into the zombie’s eyes; the blood-red pupils revealed only a bloodthirsty frenzy, devoid of rationality or intellect.

"Hit it!"

Zhang Su squeezed out two powerful syllables from his throat, his right arm muscles bulging. The axe blade created a shadow in the air, showing no mercy or hesitation, even though the foe was a fellow human just hours ago.

He was never a compassionate saint, fully aware of the current situation—this wasn’t a game, with no room for hesitation or regret!

Thud!

A spine-chilling sound echoed.

The sharp hand axe struck the zombie’s skull precisely. Even the hard skull couldn’t withstand Zhang Su’s forceful blow combined with the sharp axe blade, splitting open!

The axe blade embedded in the zombie’s face, from brow to left corner of the mouth, before splitting, skin and flesh torn, white bones exposed. Dark blood splattered against the wooden door of the water meter compartment, sticky and repulsive.

"Damn, it’s stuck. Gotta use the other end to smash it!"

Zhang Su was prepared for a non-lethal blow requiring continuous hacking but didn’t expect the axe to be stuck in the zombie’s skull, unable to pull it out. As he yanked it back with force, he inadvertently dragged the zombie towards him.

"Get off..."

Howl!

The zombie, presumably without pain, roared in anger when attacked, preparing to raise its arm to punish the human. But it was under a second assault.

The heavy baseball bat struck the zombie’s right temple with a thud.

Ingeniously ergonomic design made the heavy bat easy to wield. Zheng Xinyu didn’t expect to hit the zombie, especially since Zhang Su hadn’t noticed her moving it forward, likely resulting in a strike otherwise.

Howl.

After taking a hard hit, the zombie lost its balance and fell backward, showcasing the strength Zheng Xinyu mustered, probably her life’s best effort!

"Nicely done!"

Zhang Su voiced his approval as he exerted his strength, at the same time launching a powerful kick he’d initially intended to unleash!

"Screw you!"

Under the strong counterforce, the short axe finally dislodged, bringing along a trail of sticky fluid.

Thud.

The zombie wasn’t a Weeble; being struck in the head, then kicked in the chest and abdomen, it couldn’t keep balance and collapsed against the door of 802, leaning feebly against it. Its mouth tore open, emitting mindless wails as if venting dissatisfaction.

Ambushing was cowardly, yet ganging up was unprincipled!

The zombie’s already terrifying face was now even more horrifying after the slash, resembling a flowered face...

Thud!

Not giving the zombie any respite, Zhang Su flipped the axe, using the hammer side to face the zombie, raised it high, and smashed down with force. The solid hammer struck the top of the zombie’s head.

The axe hammer delivered a heavy blow to the zombie!

Howl.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Die, die, damn it!"

Zhang Su cursed under his breath, his forehead veins bulging, muscular arms dancing up and down. The hammer dislodged various tissues, flesh, and bone fragments, splattering the wall, the ceiling, even the lampshade wasn’t spared.

"Whew, whew, is it dead?"

After more than ten strikes, Zhang Su paused, stepping back a few paces, leaning against the wall, cautiously watching the utterly disfigured zombie.

"Ugh!"

In response to Zhang Su was a retching sound. On the side, Zheng Xinyu’s stomach convulsed, ejecting a mixture of rice, Sichuan-style preserved meat, peas, and other food materials from her mouth, drenching the zombie.

Under Zhang Su’s ferocious pounding, the zombie’s head was completely deformed, like a bowl with a mouth grown on its neck, its internal structure exposed, edges bloodied, creating an unparalleled visual impact!

Without Zheng Xinyu’s reply, Zhang Su kicked the zombie’s limp ankle, seeing no response, finally relaxed.