Doomsday Awakening GL - Chapter 7

Detecting Tang Nengping’s embarrassment, An Yimu decided not to ask further questions.

She turned to walk in the direction of Ling Qiuyu and Nuan Qianyu. Just then, Tang Nengping caught up and said with a smile, “Why don’t we stick together? It’s safer with more people.”

An Yimu nodded.

She was still thinking about the bean-shaped object. What exactly was it? She knew her shoulder bone had been almost crushed by the zombie that Su Mo turned into, and the startling wound on her leg was deep enough to see bone. How could all of it have healed instantly? This was too unscientific. But then again, could the appearance of zombies and the terrifying bl00d-sucking red threads be explained by science?

An Yimu summarized the situation: her sudden recovery must be related to the bean-shaped object, and her suddenly enhanced strength, hearing, and sight must also be related to it. But what exactly this object was remained unknown, as did what would happen when the milky-white energy inside it was full.

The two quickly reached the back of the ruins.

Nuan Qianyu and Ling Qiuyu were both very excited to see An Yimu, as they were the only two unarmed people and were still very afraid.

“Xiaomu, which way do we go next?” Ling Qiuyu stood up, supported by Nuan Qianyu. Her chest was heaving, her breathing still unstable, and her beautiful black hair was slightly dishevelled.

An Yimu was also considering what to do next. The sudden earthquake last night had caught everyone off guard. Now, their backpacks, food, and even the police baton were buried under the ruins. They would have to walk for at least another day to reach the next county town, but they couldn’t possibly do that without food and water. The only course of action now was to go into this county first to find some food.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard Tang Nengping say, “Let’s go into the county first to find some food. We at least need to replenish our strength.”

Nuan Qianyu looked miserable. She hadn’t spoken a single word since An Yimu arrived, seemingly deep in thought.

The four walked for nearly two hours to get from the outskirts into the city. Looking around, it was a scene of rubble and broken walls. The once towering buildings were crooked and tilted, and many had completely collapsed, looking incredibly desolate.

It was only a little past 9 a.m., but the cold wind was still biting, drilling its way into their sleeves and collars.

An Yimu was looking for a supermarket or something similar. They needed to find some food and leave quickly. She felt that the silence here was too eerie; even with an earthquake, there shouldn’t be zero living people.

Suddenly, she remembered how Su Mo and the others were fine but turned into zombies after dying in the earthquake. In this county town, inhabited by at least tens of thousands of people, how many would have died, and how many would have turned into zombies? This thought sent a shiver down her spine.

However, there was no evidence to suggest that the zombification of these bodies was related to the earthquake. After all, weren’t zombies present from the beginning? Why these things appeared was something no one knew!

“Let’s find food and get out of here quickly,” An Yimu turned and said to the other three.

Ling Qiuyu had better eyesight and was more observant. She quickly found a collapsed small supermarket, where snacks and similar items were scattered everywhere.

The group gathered, dug out four durable backpacks from the rubble, and filled them with instant food like instant noodles. An Yimu happened to find a few chocolate bars and put them in her coat pocket. These high-energy foods could be life-saving in a critical moment.

After packing their things, the few people prepared to leave.

Since the appearance of the bean-shaped object in her brain, An Yimu’s sight and hearing were twice as good as before. At this moment, she heard something moving under the rubble, sounding like it was trying to crawl out. She hesitated, unsure if it was a living person or a zombie.

Before she could hesitate, subtle vibrations began to occur everywhere. Even Tang Nengping, Ling Qiuyu, and Nuan Qianyu noticed the anomaly.

Soon, a fully decomposed zombie crawled out from the rubble nearby, followed by seven or eight more. Over a dozen zombies also emerged from the direction they planned to leave.

In that instant, nearly a hundred zombies appeared in the formerly desolate and empty ruins.

“Oh god, we forgot to check the calendar before we came out!” Nuan Qianyu murmured.

An Yimu also frowned deeply. They couldn’t wait for more zombies to emerge. Once they were completely surrounded, they wouldn’t have a way out.

“Charge out! Run toward the inner part of the county! I’ll take the lead, Brother Tang, you cover the rear! Quick!”

With that, An Yimu led the charge. There were too many zombies in the direction of the exit from the city. They had to break out of this encirclement first!

An Yimu’s strength was twice that of a normal person. She charged into the zombie horde like a wolf into a flock of sheep. Wherever she went, there were zombie corpses, punctuated by the sounds of bang, bang, bang as zombie heads exploded.

The other three were immensely shocked but had no time to worry about it. They just kept close behind An Yimu, terrified of being separated.

In just a short while, An Yimu had killed over 20 zombies.

Just as they were about to break through, An Yimu’s path was blocked by a completely black zombie.

The zombie’s body was incredibly hard. The steel rebar An Yimu had pried off the farmhouse window was unable to hurt it. Moreover, this zombie was different from the others; its body was much more flexible and knew how to guard its vital points.

An Yimu had encountered a tough opponent, and the surrounding zombies were closing in.

The people following her were forced to stop. Nuan Qianyu roared and charged into the surrounding zombie horde. “If I don’t show my power, you really dare to underestimate me!”

Tang Nengping was originally a construction site mover, so his strength was considerable. He couldn’t possibly lag behind the women, so he also rushed into the zombie horde, ferociously fighting the zombies.

Just as Nuan Qianyu haphazardly struck off a zombie’s head, An Yimu glanced over out of concern and saw a whitish substance from the zombie’s brain shoot into Nuan Qianyu’s head.

In that moment of distraction, the completely black zombie fiercely clawed at An Yimu. An Yimu heard the sound of the wind and immediately dodged, but she was still slashed on the arm. Bl00d gushed out, staining her sleeve red.

Smelling the bl00d, the zombie became even more excited. Its movements were significantly faster than before, constantly looking for opportunities to attack An Yimu’s injured arm.

This zombie was too cunning! Dragging this out was definitely not an option.

Ling Qiuyu was alone, and Nuan Qianyu’s stamina was limited. An Yimu had to deal with this zombie as quickly as possible.

An Yimu rushed forward fiercely, kicking the zombie’s head directly head-on. The zombie blocked with its black arm, and as its arms shook, its claws scratched An Yimu’s leg.

An Yimu gritted her teeth, did a backflip, kicked up the surrounding dust for cover, and then sprinted to the side of the zombie. Dust can blind people but is useless against zombies. This zombie was completely black and incredibly hard. Every time An Yimu kicked it, it felt like kicking an iron wall. Rushing to the side of the zombie, she used force to smash the steel rebar in her hand at the zombie’s head.

There was a bang. The steel rebar was blocked by the zombie’s arm. Because An Yimu used great force, she couldn’t pull it back in time. The zombie grabbed the steel rebar and violently flung it aside, along with An Yimu, who was holding it. She crashed onto the ground, her internal organs aching from the impact.

The zombie leaped toward her to attack. An Yimu rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging it, and then jumped up with a carp-flip move. One person and one zombie faced off.

Suddenly, the zombie darted in the opposite direction.

Oh no! The zombie, unable to gain an advantage against An Yimu, had now set its sights on the isolated Ling Qiuyu.

An Yimu’s breath hitched, and she frantically gave chase.

Ling Qiuyu held an iron rod helplessly, looking at the surrounding zombies. Tang Nengping and Nuan Qianyu were both trying to protect her. Her body was frail, and she couldn’t fight zombies at all. Her beautiful eyes were tearful, and she clutched the iron rod tightly, as if it could give her a sense of security.

Just then, she suddenly heard An Yimu shout, “Qiuyu, run!”

She then saw a zombie, different from the others, completely black and moving very fast, rushing toward her. She screamed in fright and backed away repeatedly.

This retreat caused the zombie’s first lunge to miss, giving An Yimu time to catch up.

Ling Qiuyu was trembling all over, her body too stiff to move her legs.

The zombie was only two meters away. She could clearly see the red and white fluid oozing from the zombie’s eye sockets and smell the stench that rushed at her.

Just as the zombie lunged again, An Yimu finally caught up. She grabbed the zombie’s ankle and pulled hard backward. The zombie was thrown out by the force, and An Yimu attacked without hesitation.

The zombie seemed enraged. Relying on its tough skin, it engaged in close combat with An Yimu. This put An Yimu at a great disadvantage, almost always on the defensive. Just as she grabbed the zombie’s arm, preparing for an over-the-shoulder throw, the zombie shook her off, and she was thrown to the ground.

She instantly couldn’t catch her breath. An Yimu narrowed her eyes, watching the frenzied zombie lunge at her, while her hand fumbled for something under the rubble.

Nuan Qianyu was already exhausted. The zombies were too strong. She was only barely managing to keep the zombies from getting close. Moreover, more and more zombies were gathering. If she hadn’t had good stamina from studying dance, she would have been dismembered by now. Aside from the accidental kill of one zombie, she hadn’t been able to take down any others.

Tang Nengping was in no better shape; he was surrounded after killing two or three zombies.

Ling Qiuyu was isolated, but because the large number of zombies had been drawn to Nuan Qianyu and Tang Nengping, she was only dodging a small portion of them. Thankfully, these zombies were still slow and stiff, so she could run and avoid them. If another zombie like the one fighting An Yimu were to show up, they would surely perish here today.

An Yimu’s eyes lit up. Sure enough, she had noticed earlier that in the sunlight, tiny glints of light could be seen from certain positions in the rubble, as if refracted by something. If it wasn’t a mirror, it had to be a blade. She needed a sharp blade now to cut through the zombie’s “hard shell.” At this moment, she felt a paring knife.

The zombie didn’t notice An Yimu’s unusual behavior. Seeing her stop moving, it was overjoyed and prepared for a quick kill. Just as it lunged at An Yimu, it was suddenly stabbed.

The paring knife sliced a long gash on the zombie’s arm, and black liquid flowed out. The zombie was furious. It roared and attacked An Yimu with newfound frenzy.