Transmigrating into a Wasteland Cannon Fodder Slag A [GL Yuri] - Chapter 9

Yan An took the axe and went downstairs step by step.

She just checked and there weren’t many zombies under the building.

All the zombies were now swarming toward the neighboring building. Even the ones in their own block were rushing that way.

Low-level zombies had no intelligence, not even as much as wild animals. The blare of the alarm from next door drew them like moths, and plenty of them were hurling themselves out of windows just to get across.

Only the slowest, dullest stragglers remained.

The two they’d run into earlier had been exactly that sluggish and stupid. Otherwise, Yan An wouldn’t have been able to finish them off so easily.

They hadn’t made it down to the second floor yet.

Behind her, Gu Xia’s thoughts were a tangled mess.

Up on the roof, she’d seen more than one fresh zombie corpse. Which meant that while she’d been dangling on the rope, at least one zombie had attacked. Yet Yan An hadn’t let go. Instead, she had pulled tighter.

One hand clinging to the rope, the other fighting off a zombie if she’d slipped even once, she could have been scratched.

In that situation, the smart choice would’ve been to let go, let Gu Xia’s life hang by a thread. After all, the rope might have held, or it might not.

Even if it didn’t slip loose, without Yan An bracing the line, the weight of a person would have dragged it downward. In that sudden drop, terror alone might’ve made Gu Xia lose her grip and fall.

She pictured it again and again in her mind. If Yan An had released the rope, the odds of her plummeting were far higher than the odds of her climbing to safety.

If Yan An had wanted her dead, that had been the perfect chance.

Her strength was already obvious. She could have shaken off this burden and had a far easier time escaping the compound.

But there was no time to dwell. The danger pressing in on them was real.

“Gu Xia,” Yan An cut into her thoughts, “a few zombies on the first floor, more outside. They’re still closing in from all sides. If we want out, we’ll have to clear these stinkers first.”

She wrinkled her nose. Zombies reeked so badly it made her head swim during a fight.

Gu Xia eyed the bl00d splattered across her clothes. She smelled awful too. How did she still have the gall to complain about the stench of others… of corpses?

And hadn’t she just been calling her “sister”? Now it was “Gu Xia” again.

When Yan An didn’t hear a reply, she glanced back and found Gu Xia zoning out. Her patience frayed. Of all times to drift off!

“Classmate Gu Xia,” she teased with dry sarcasm, “what’s got your mind wandering now?”

When she called her sister, she was bold; when she didn’t, she was bolder still.

Gu Xia tilted her head slightly, gazing at the zombies outside. Then she pulled out her phone and dialed.

Moments later, Chen Hao’s phone rang inside his room and the sound bled into the building’s PA system.

They could even faintly hear it from here.

The instant the speakers crackled to life, the zombies outside went wild again, bolting en masse toward the noise.

Yan An’s eyes widened. So Gu Xia had tricks like this too?

“Architecture major. You pick up a little circuitry along the way, right?”

Gu Xia had taken advantage of Chen Hao’s obsessive caution. He had hoarded everything in his room, including the broadcasting system. She’d hooked her phone into it as a safeguard. She hadn’t expected to actually need it, but it worked.

Yan An flashed her a thumbs-up. “Move.”

She grabbed Gu Xia’s hand and ran.

They were supposed to be a couple, at least in name. Holding hands wasn’t much of a stretch.

Gu Xia’s eyes flicked down at their joined fingers. Then she kept pace behind her.

With the zombies distracted by the broadcast, none paid them any attention.

Yan An had memorized the floor plan Gu Xia had sketched and followed it, weaving through the complex toward the exit.

They passed through building after building. They were slower than a straight sprint, but far safer.

Thankfully, most of the horde had already been lured away by the first C-Zone alarm. The second broadcast had drawn off the sluggish remainder.

Only a handful still wandered the grounds—dull, deaf, or insensitive to smell. Harmless compared to the swarms.

“Wait.”

Less than thirty meters from the main gate, Yan An’s gut clenched. She yanked Gu Xia into a pile of cargo.

Moments later, hundreds of zombies poured toward the compound.

At least five hundred, she guessed. Mindless, they crashed against the barbed wire, against the walls. Eventually, one found a breach, and the rest surged in after it.

More from outside converged on the sound. Beyond the walls stretched only open ground. If they left the gate, they’d have nowhere to hide, unless they had a car.

Yan An’s gaze landed on a sedan crumpled against the wall not far from their cover.

It looked a little like a Santana, though her predecessor had never known much about cars and couldn’t name the model here. Clearly someone had tried to flee, crashed, and run.

One window was shattered. No telling if anyone was still inside.

There was a parking lot further away, but reaching it would be risky. This car was their only real shot.

Yan An scanned the area carefully. The latest wave of zombies had already moved on. No telling when the next would arrive. Time was short.

She nudged Gu Xia’s arm. “I’ll check the car. You stay here.”

“I’ll go with you,” Gu Xia said immediately. The thought of being left alone in this pitch-black compound was unbearable.

“Alright. Just stay close.”

Yan An didn’t argue. She led the way.

They hadn’t reached the car when a zombie lunged at them. Two more followed.

Yan An knew their weak points now. Just like in the apocalypse movies headshots were the surest way.

She swung her axe down hard. The blade split one skull clean, and the body crumpled.

Zombies were slow, their senses dulled compared to when they were alive. A lone one wasn’t so hard to escape if you kept your nerve.

But in groups, they were nearly impossible to outrun.

Which was why she wasted no time, cutting them down fast and moving on.

She glanced at the fallen corpses, confirming they were fully dead, then peered through the car window.

Her altered eyes picked out the interior even in the dark.

Empty. The driver’s-side glass was broken, the passenger door still ajar. She pictured the driver scrambling out after the crash, praying they’d made it to safety.

Inside reeked of bl00d, the stench thick and metallic. In the humid summer heat, it was almost unbearable, rain or no rain.

The collision hadn’t been too severe and the headlights had fallen out, but the keys were still in the ignition.

“Get in.” Yan An slid into the driver’s seat, setting the axe on the passenger side.

Gu Xia climbed into the back and locked the doors.

It was only a car, but the enclosed space gave them both a breath of relief.

They kept quiet. No zombies turned their way.

But the moment the engine started, noise alone would draw attention. Even with the broadcast luring most away, the dozen or so outside the gate would come running.

Yan An focused, turned the key…

The car sputtered with a harsh screech and failed.

“?”

Gu Xia froze. The sound had already attracted the wandering zombies. Ten of them, at least, came barreling toward the vehicle.

“Out!” she cried, fumbling at the door. It was locked.

“Wait!” Yan An held her breath, forcing every ounce of focus into her C-rank repair ability.

If she could fix anything… then fixing a car should be no problem.

The next second, the engine roared to life.

Yan An threw it into reverse, then forward, flooring the gas. One lumbering zombie went flying under the bumper.

She gripped the wheel tight, pedal down, and the sedan shot through the compound gates.

The shattered windshield bearing witness to how close it had been.