From a window on the sixth floor, several heads poked out, each wearing a horrified expression.
Su Jin moved among the zombie corpses, his blade rising and falling, rising and falling...
Some were decapitated, some dismembered, and others chopped into diamond-shaped chunks.
Yet no matter the corpse, each ultimately had its heart cut open.
After watching for a moment, Fu Qingdai covered her mouth and retreated, supported by Zhang Wan.
The two old men, along with Fu Hu, watched a bit longer before pulling their heads back in together and quietly closing the window.
Those across the residential complex who had frequently cried for help whenever Su Jin appeared no longer dared utter a peep, hastily drawing all their curtains shut.
The entire complex fell dead silent, save for the relentless chopping of bone.
After gouging out the heart of the final corpse, Su Jin looked utterly dejected.
With superhuman abilities within him, he did not need to fear infection.
This time, he had intended to harvest flesh bulbs from other zombies, desensitize himself to the gore and overcome his fear in the process, and finally study the zombies' weaknesses and combat patterns.
His effort had indeed not been wasted. Through this brief practice session, he had discovered a fatal flaw common to nearly all zombies—a detail that might save his life in the future.
With new tactical insights and his strength vastly increased, his courage had grown considerably.
Having already dissected two corpses beforehand, combined with this round of practice, he could now be reasonably certain that encountering a living threat wouldn't trigger panic or trembling hands, allowing him to fight at full capacity.
The pity was... the drop rate for flesh bulbs was remarkably low.
He had sliced open every last corpse, yet found nothing.
He had arrived in high spirits, only to leave empty-handed.
Heading back to change his clothes, Su Jin hurried back downstairs and went straight to the second floor.
He gave two brisk knocks on the door and heard a voice reply inside.
Without hesitation, he shot out the lock and kicked his way into the apartment.
The occupant had still been peering through the peephole, and before he could react, a gun barrel was already pressed against his forehead.
Recognizing Su Jin's face, the man collapsed onto the floor, scrambling backward with trembling pupils as he stammered in terror, "Big brother, don't kill me... I'm Cheng Du! We've even smoked cigarettes together!"
Su Jin glanced around the room, lowered his weapon, and smiled. "Captain Cheng, I'm here to save you. No need to be afraid."
Cheng Du was the captain of the Rencai Community security team, whose daily routine mostly consisted of strolling around the grounds.
Back when Su Jin was transporting grain and cooking oil at night, he had given the man a heads-up, so they had indeed crossed paths.
In his early thirties, Cheng Du had a rather relaxed job, but he possessed decent self-discipline and was in good physical shape.
Although he could see Su Jin harbored no ill intent, Cheng Du clearly didn't dare let his guard down. "Brother Li... you... just now downstairs..."
"Those zombies? I was using them to sharpen my skills and steel my nerves. Sooner or later, we'll run into them again anyway. Do I look like a psychopath to you? Get up."
"Ah... right! Right!" Cheng Du blinked in sudden comprehension, tears streaming down his face as he scrambled up, wanting to throw his arms around Su Jin.
"Brother! I was scared to death! I saw you several times and screamed for you until my voice gave out! Why did you only come save me now?"
Su Jin raised his gun and gestured back. "Don't come any closer. First, I need to make sure you haven't touched any rainwater."
"Of course I haven't!" Cheng Du wiped his eyes. "Someone sealed my door and slipped a flyer inside. Later, I got a text on my phone... The rainwater is contaminated, so how could I possibly dare touch it?"
"Then what have you been drinking?"
"The first two days it rained, I drank soft drinks. After that, I drank toilet water. I even drank lubricant... When there was truly nothing left, today I drank urine... *Waaah*..." Cheng Du burst into tears. "Why couldn't you have come a day earlier?!"
Su Jin's eyes flicked to the dining table. Seeing a glass half-filled with what looked like 'iced tea,' he felt slightly relieved.
The man was probably fine; he clearly had strong survival awareness if he was willing to drink urine... But what was with the lubricant?
"Why didn't you ration your drinks? It shouldn't have come to this."
"Who knew things would turn out like this? I thought someone would come rescue me right away."
"Understood." Su Jin nodded. "All right. We're all gathered upstairs. I'll take you up in a bit, and someone will help you."
"Do you know what's going on across the hall?"
"I do. Auntie Liu is a widow. While you were chopping up bodies down there, the two of us were actually talking through the door. She lives alone, has a water dispenser, and had two spare jugs of water stored. She's not lacking food or drink." Having said this, Cheng Du licked his dry, acrid lips. "On the third floor, something definitely happened in 301 right above me. I heard fighting and screams.
"Room 302 is rented by a new tenant, a female college student. I don't know what's going on with her."
It was a comprehensive overview that provided useful information promptly; for now, Cheng Du seemed dependable.
That made sense—an ordinary fool could hardly have lasted this long.
Su Jin quickly formed his assessment.
"Good. Pack up all the useful supplies in your apartment. I'll get Auntie Liu from across the hall, and we'll head upstairs together."
***
Inside Room 302, firewood was burning. The apartment was not cold in the slightest; wearing thick clothes would even make one sweat.
Li Fang sat on the mattress with lifeless eyes and disheveled hair, looking more dead than alive.
Slumped on the floor in two opposite corners of the room were two sickly young men.
"Li Fang... really... is there really not a bite to eat left?" one of the boys asked weakly.
Li Fang turned her head numbly, casting a resentful glare at him.
She had originally invited Cao Chengping and Li Kai over to work on a group assignment.
They had had a heavy drinking session that night, and by the next day, they couldn't get out.
There had only been a handful of snacks in the apartment, and these two bastards had eaten half of them.
Without them, she wouldn't have starved to this point.
Seeing Li Fang remain silent, Li Kai pressed on feebly, "Did you... hide some food? You must have stashed something... Otherwise, how are you in better shape than me?"
"Get lost," Li Fang spat out, lapsing into silence again.
"Who the hell are you telling to get lost?! If it wasn't for your damn group assignment, would I be in this mess?" Li Kai snarled in anger. "If you hadn't flushed the toilet, would we be stuck like this?! Who told you to flush after taking a dump?! Why are you so selfish?! Can't you think about anyone else?!"
"Enough, shut up." Cao Chengping stood up unsteadily, stripping off his clothes while staring at Li Fang. "If we don't die of thirst, we'll die of hunger. And even if we don't starve, we don't know when carbon monoxide poisoning will kill us... Outside, besides the monsters, there's a murderer guarding the doors. None of us are getting out alive... None of us..."
With that, Cao Chengping swallowed hard. "Li Fang... go wash your ass."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Panic flared in Li Fang's eyes as she shrank back toward the head of the bed.
"Wash her ass... You have water?!" Li Kai was instantly revitalized.
Cao Chengping's expression twisted into a savage sneer. "Yeah, I have water! I collected it the day the rain stopped, and I already drank some! Nothing happened to me at all! At this point, there's no reason to hide it. There's only a little left anyway, drinking it won't save us! Li Fang, hurry up and go wash yourself!"
"Where's the water? Where is it? I want to drink..." Li Kai crawled over and grabbed the hem of Cao Chengping's pants, only to be kicked aside with ease.
"Drink my ass... What good is a cup of water going to do?" Cao Chengping's eyes reddened as he glared down at Li Fang. "I'm asking you one last time: are you going to wash or not?!"
"I won't! Chengping, have you lost your mind?!"
Tears welled in Li Fang's eyes, her voice choked with sobs as she shook her head and shrank away.
"I haven't lost my mind... We're dead either way! Before I die, I'm going to be a real man!" Cao Chengping roared. "Won't wash, huh?! Won't wash... then don't fucking wash! My mouth feels tasteless anyway! Move your hands and let me see!"
With a manic burst of energy, Cao Chengping lunged onto the bed.
Li Fang screamed and wept, struggling violently against him.
"Chengping... Chengping, don't do this! Didn't you say you thought of me as a sister?! Ahh!"
"Yeah, I've always thought of you as a stepsister... Let go!"
"Li Kai... Li... Li Kai, help me! Didn't you say... you liked me?! Help... help me!"
Hearing her pleas, Li Kai mustered his remaining strength, propping himself up against the wall. Also seized by a sudden surge of adrenaline, he let out a bellow: "Cao Chengping!!"
"What?! We're all about to die! You want to stop me?!" Pinning Li Fang down, Cao Chengping shot a bloodshot glare toward Li Kai.
The muscles in Li Kai's face twitched several times before he finally spoke.
"Count me in."
"...*Ahhh!*"
Chapter 36