Section Six: Stabbing a Zombie to Death

Could it be… could someone actually come to save her? Who could it possibly be? Xiao Fengyu's heart brimmed with confusion. Yet the zombies gave her no time to ponder; two of them lunged at her in quick succession.

She gazed in terror at the onrushing zombies, realizing it was already too late. The reprieve from death had been but a fleeting pause—she was still going to die, after all.

First, she had been rescued, kindling a desperate desire to survive. Now, faced with the relentless approach of death, despair flooded her again. The dramatic swings of hope and hopelessness left her even more lost, her soul adrift as she stared blankly at the zombies closing in, subconsciously ceasing all struggle—

Bang! Another can of Red Bull hurtled through the air, knocking down yet another zombie. In that instant, hope sparked anew in her eyes.

Revived by the flame of survival, Xiao Fengyu scrambled to her feet. Another zombie howled and leapt toward her, now less than a meter away. In less than half a second, those claws would be close enough to graze her delicate skin. She instinctively began to pray for another can of Red Bull, and sure enough, when the zombie's claws were barely thirty centimeters away and her pupils had constricted to pinpricks, yet another can came flying.

Ecstatic, Xiao Fengyu realized she was already standing. All this had happened in less than five seconds—she had already brushed past death three times. The thrill of it left her breathless. Springing to her feet, she turned and sprinted toward the rendezvous point.

As she turned, she automatically looked for the person who had brought her hope. All she could see were several fleeing figures, their backs receding into the distance. The one closest to her was a man—was his name Qi Xi? If he had really run at full speed, he shouldn't have fallen behind Qiu Xiaoyan and Liang Fei, those two women. Did that mean he was the one who saved her? Doubt filled Xiao Fengyu's heart.

After lobbing several cans of Red Bull, Qi Xi wasted no time in fleeing. He had already given Xiao Fengyu a chance to live. If she failed to seize it due to sluggishness, saving her further would be no different from rescuing a useless burden—no, perhaps she could serve as an outlet for frustration, but Qi Xi would never do such a thing. It wasn't a matter of shame or honor; he simply had his own principles. Excluding that, she was truly without value—just a vase, utterly useless. Naturally, Qi Xi would not try to save her again.

Everyone scattered, running for their lives. Watermelon was not far from Qi Xi. Watching him play the hero, Watermelon couldn't help but feel admiration—so this is what it means to be a seasoned survivor. When he saw the zombies, his first instinct had been to run, without a single thought of saving anyone. To help others when it doesn't harm one's own interests sounds noble enough, but not everyone is capable of it. Qi Xi had done it—not because he was kinder, but because he was more human.

Qi Xi's act of rescue was witnessed by the two women and two men—Liang Fei, Qiu Xiaoyan, Nan Housheng, and Li Feidao. Their eyes betrayed a mix of complex emotions—some thought the rescue was sheer folly, but on reflection felt a tinge of shame, even a touch of respect for Qi Xi.

Humanity and morality—perhaps they are separated by no more than a single thought.

But such musings lasted only a moment. The urgent matter now was escape.

In truth, their plan had been rather naive, and so were their thoughts. The escape was not as simple as they had hoped. Soon, zombies from neighboring rooms, those lurking in the shadows, and even those on the rooftop, all spotted the living, excitement surging through them. They streamed out of rooms, burst from the gloom, leapt from the rooftop, howling as they converged upon their prey.

One glance ahead revealed even more zombies, densely packed—a scene straight from hell.

Behind them surged an even greater horde, their numbers terrifying.

With wolves ahead and tigers behind, they were trapped—sandwiched and surrounded.

"This way! There's an alley here!"

Heaven had not abandoned them. Qiu Xiaoyan, a taxi driver by trade, knew the town's layout like the back of her hand. She was familiar with this alley, barely wide enough to admit a single car.

She had planned carefully, not waiting for the others to catch up before darting in herself. When Nan Housheng and Li Feidao drew close to the alley, she called out to them—her intention was clearly to let the two men clear the way for her.

Even if the alley was a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, they had no choice but to dash through. The zombies behind were closing in and those ahead gathered in greater numbers.

Li Feidao, wielding a fire axe, charged ahead. Five meters in front of him, a zombie lunged—a middle-aged, obese woman. Her bulging belly had split open, intestines trailing long and gruesome across the ground. Transformed, she felt no pain; instead, she hurtled forward, shrieking with sick excitement, eager to bring down this strong man.

Li Feidao regarded her with disgust and growled, "Sow, out of my way!" Gripping the fire axe with both hands, he swung—not with the blade, but with the back of the axe. It wasn’t mercy; if he used the blade, it might get stuck in the fat zombie's skull, and in such a crisis, he’d have no choice but to abandon his weapon.

Unwilling to lose his axe, he struck with the back. The axe whistled through the air and came down, breaking the zombie's outstretched arm and smashing her head in.

Bang! Her skull shattered, brain matter spraying, though not in great quantity—Li Feidao wasn’t that strong.

With that heavy blow, the obese zombie collapsed and couldn’t get up, whimpering as she tried to rise but failed, her brain too damaged. With the threat neutralized, Li Feidao wasted no time with a finishing blow, plunging into the alley.

The others followed, slipping into the alley one after another.

At this critical moment, Qi Xi fully activated his world-data interface, constantly scanning for any approaching zombies. The interface could detect them, but unfortunately, it couldn’t do so automatically or sound an alert—such things required an AI, which, even if available for only a world’s time, was far beyond Qi Xi’s means.

At that moment, Qi Xi’s status screen read:

[Name: Qi Xi]
[Gender: Male]
[Status: Skill "Thirty Years Single-Minded Focus" active, remaining duration: four seconds]
[Stamina: Among the best of ordinary people]
[Strength: Stronger than the average person]
[Agility: On par with his strength]
[Defense: Humans without armor are truly fragile]
[Mental State: Seems rather sharp]
[Charisma: Get lost, you sharp-faced bastard]

All this takes long to recount, but from the moment Qi Xi activated the skill "Thirty Years Single-Minded Focus" to now, only half a minute had passed. The skill’s duration was short; now, only a few seconds remained.

Just as Qi Xi glanced at the status screen, a new message flashed on the world-data interface.

A zombie was approaching!

[Name: Zombie]
[Type: Monster]
[Attribute: Infectious Virus]
[Attack: Slightly weaker than an ordinary person]
[Defense: Slightly weaker than an ordinary person]
[Agility: At best, a brisk walk]
[Note: If it can’t bite you to death, it will disgust you with its stench]

As this message appeared, only three seconds of his skill were left.

As a zombie leapt through a nearby door and lunged for Qi Xi, the skill had but two seconds remaining.

Qi Xi calculated—he had just enough time. He strode forward without a hint of fear, launching a kick that sent the zombie crashing into the wall, then tumbling to the floor from the recoil. Seizing the moment, Qi Xi gripped his sharpened chopstick and drove it into the zombie’s skull!

One second remained on the skill.

But it was enough.

Empowered by the skill, Qi Xi’s right hand drove the chopstick cleanly into the zombie’s head. Instantly, the zombie ceased all movement—dead. However, the force of the strike snapped the chopstick.

Thus, the first weapon Qi Xi had found in this world—a sharpened chopstick—met its glorious end.

Still, killing a zombie with a chopstick was a feat worth celebrating. Who said zombies can’t be stabbed to death? Who says it’s impossible? To the remarks section: screw you!