Xiang An indeed hadn't expected that the guide acquired by Ye Dayong would conceal such crucial operational details.
Previously, he had only skimmed through it to dismantle materials, casually glancing over other content. Now, it was clear he had missed a large amount of key information.
"Being a lone wolf in the apocalypse is truly the worst strategy," Xiang An mused inwardly.
Since the outbreak of the disaster, his nerves had been constantly taut. Although he had forced himself to rest early last night, the subconscious anxiety had lingered.
While he could still maintain focus when fighting zombies, compared to his usual thorough approach, it was indeed difficult to attend to numerous details now.
"But even with sufficient materials, it's hard for us to fill all the defensive gaps in the short term," Shen Xia analyzed seriously. "Estimating roughly, at least ten or so zombies have invaded through the gaps. Even if we use sound sources to attract them, the number remaining indoors exceeds our ability to handle."
Xiang An nodded in agreement. "Let's take it step by step. We'll clear the sixth floor first."
If possible, the shelter, which was not even in its rudimentary form yet, indeed needed to increase the number of survivors further—at least to have the most basic resistance when facing a horde, instead of being stumped by merely a dozen zombies!
However, you have to eat one bite at a time. The most pressing task at hand was to eliminate the immediate threat.
With the dual advantage of the manual's guidance and practical experience, the door-breaching operation in Room 602 went much more smoothly.
The moment the door swung open, the congealed bloodstains on the shoe cabinet in the entryway and the half-gutted remains sent a shiver down Shen Xia's spine.
"He..." Her throat tightened.
Xiang An's voice was heavy, his gaze scanning the depths of the room. "This person didn't mutate immediately... but was eaten alive while trying to escape the room."
He didn't know the victim who had been brutally disemboweled, but the sight of cannibalism still made him uncomfortable.
"Fortunately, there are no other tenants where we are," Shen Xia suppressed her physical nausea and murmured.
As they spoke, two zombies noticed the commotion and approached the entryway with heavy steps.
Compared to the elderly couple across the hall, these zombies had a clear size advantage, estimated to weigh around two hundred pounds each.
Dark red bloodstains were congealed at the corners of their mouths, their faces hideously contorted, and beneath their ripped clothing, swollen, dark blue mutated muscle tissue was exposed.
"Xiang Ge, we can retreat behind the tripwire," Shen Xia said nervously. "They're too strong. Fighting them head-on is very risky."
Xiang An didn't turn his head, calmly saying, "You step back."
With the zombies right in front of them, turning around and retreating directly was also quite risky. He and Shen Xia might both end up here. They had to buy time by delaying.
Shen Xia hesitated. "Let's go together."
"If you don't retreat, I can't either, understand?" Xiang An roared in a low voice.
The entryway wasn't large. If he and Shen Xia crowded together, their fate might be similar to the young man lying gutted at their feet.
"Okay, okay," Shen Xia bit her lip and backed away.
She had killed zombies, and arguably even killed a person, but she was ultimately an ordinary person and would still feel somewhat flustered in emergencies.
At the same time, two zombies lunged forward, bringing with them a fishy wind, their burly bodies carrying an astonishing sense of oppression.
Xiang An swung his shovel with all his might.
The narrow space restricted his movements, but it was the same for the zombies. Only one zombie reached him immediately; the other was blocked.
With a dull thud as the shovel blade struck the zombie's lower jaw, he used the recoil to pivot and retreat.
Shen Xia slightly raised the straightened binding strap, and Xiang An immediately ducked under it.
Two mutated creatures followed closely, rushing into the corridor. The one in front was tripped by the taut binding strap at the waist and fell, while the one behind had no thought of slowing down and immediately tumbled onto the concrete steps.
"Smash!"
Veins bulged on Xiang An's forehead as his arms moved up and down. The zombie's flesh and blood were scooped up by the shovel blade, splashing onto the wall.
A few minutes later, both zombies fell silent.
Shen Xia released the blood-stained pry bar and offered a tissue to Xiang An to wipe his sweat. "Xiang Ge, you seem to be hitting harder than before?"
"Their physique is what it is. If I don't hit hard, what if they open their mouths and bite me?" Xiang An explained.
Whether it was Yang Zhiping or the elderly couple from 601, they were old people who had mutated into zombies, and their threat was far less terrifying than the current ones. He could afford to hold back a little.
But just now, he had to go all out to avoid capsizing in a ditch.
After killing the two heavyweight zombies, Xiang An didn't immediately clean the room but sat on the relatively clean stairs to rest.
"What weapons would you usually use in your novels?" he suddenly asked.
Although Shen Xia's pry bar could effectively restrain them, it lacked lethal force, and he still had to finish them off with his shovel blade.
"Fire axes, rebar, and grain samplers..." Shen Xia listed seriously. "These are all very good initial weapons, but we can't find them nearby."
"I know where there are fire axes. I'll bring one back for you when I have time."
Fire safety is a very important part of community work, and he knew the location of the fire axes.
"That's not necessary," Shen Xia shook her head. "It's too dangerous outside, and the pry bar is quite useful. Besides, we found a new bone cleaver in 601 just now."
"It's not as troublesome as you think. I'll just grab it next time I go to the convenience store," Xiang An explained. "Next to the community owners' committee office is the community's mini fire station, which is equipped with fire axes."
The two of them rested for a total of half an hour before pushing open the closed door and dealing with the zombies in the two rooms.
There were 5 people living in Room 602. Excluding the young man who had been gutted, there were four zombies, all of which had now been cleared.
Apart from the remains of the eaten young man, only a small amount of snacks and instant food was found in the room, but the goal of eliminating the threat on the floor had been achieved.
The two took the supplies upstairs and returned home. It was past 4 PM, and the operation to clear the building unit was temporarily concluded.
...
Early the next morning, heavy metal music pierced the thin mist.
As Xiang An and Shen Xia crouched and passed through the green belt, their feet stepped on dry branches, startling two sparrows pecking at minced meat.
Before they had fully entered the convenience store, the rusted anti-theft window frame above them vibrated violently, and half of Ye Dayong's body was almost out of the window:
"Brother! I heard the sound and knew you were coming!"
Xiang An suddenly stopped, his pupils constricting slightly as he scanned his surroundings, only relaxing his fingers slightly after confirming that nearby zombies hadn't been attracted by Ye Dayong.
"Lower your voice, do you want to get us killed?" Shen Xia put her index finger to her mouth, making a shushing gesture.
Ye Dayong's Adam's apple bobbed rapidly twice, and he scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, whispering, "Sorry, sister-in-law, I was too excited..."
"You stay put and don't make any more noise," Shen Xia warned in a low voice.
Immediately, she followed Xiang An into the convenience store and began the task of moving supplies again.
Ye Dayong opened his mouth, finally retracting half of his body back into the window. Compared to the two who dared to walk freely in the zombie-infested outside world, he felt completely like a coward.