Seducing and Flirting with Boss O While Stockpiling in the Apocalypse (GL) - Chapter 42

By the time Su Rong rowed the raft over from Building 2, she was soaked to the bone. She had swallowed some water, which caused her to cough violently. She struggled to crawl in through the eighth-floor hallway entrance, slowly pulling the raft inside to hide it.

Drenched and shivering, Su Rong sat directly on the floor, gasping for air. She tried her best to calm her racing heart, never imagining she would encounter something so unforgettable in her life.

As usual, Su Rong had woken up early to observe the weather. The rain seemed much lighter than in previous days. She figured it was time to organize the owners to scavenge for supplies again; the items brought back last time were likely almost gone.

She left her unit to call the neighbors to head over to Building 3 together. All six property management members lived on the tenth floor of Building 2, and their doors were close together. Su Rong went to knock on the door of Zhang Dan and Li Na first, as they lived together and were the hardworking types who woke up early.

But something felt wrong today. The moment Su Rong reached out to knock, she noticed the door was ajar—unlocked? Frowning, she gripped the handle and gently pushed the door open.

Then, Su Rong saw Zhang Dan rush out in a panic, clutching a large sledgehammer, with half her face stained with red liquid.

Before she could react, Su Rong collided forcefully with her. Rubbing her reddened forehead in pain, Su Rong grumbled, “Aiya, what are you doing being so reckless?!”

Zhang Dan didn’t answer. She grabbed Su Rong’s arm and started running, muttering frantically, “If we don’t run, it’ll be too late. There are monsters… we’ll die if they catch us!”

Su Rong couldn’t break free until they reached the stairwell, where she finally shook off Zhang Dan’s hand. Confused and resentful, Su Rong was about to speak when she realized the red liquid on Zhang Dan’s face looked like… blood?

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Su Rong’s anger instantly turned to concern. “Why is there so much blood? What happened this morning to make you so panicked? And your door wasn’t even locked last night…”

As Su Rong peppered her with questions, Zhang Dan’s eyes gradually filled with terror. Following her gaze, Su Rong turned around and saw four people standing in the hallway in bizarre poses.

Su Rong was all too familiar with these four—they were all property management staff. Just moments ago, she had intended to call them out to join her.

But now, Su Rong didn’t want to recognize them—she dared not. The bulging, white eyeballs, the vivid red, rotting flesh, and the ring of blood around their mouths… this horrific appearance was absolutely not that of a normal human.

She stared at the scene, her mind going blank, nearly forgetting to breathe or think.

The four figures didn’t give them a chance to react. In the next instant, they bared sharp teeth and charged toward the two women, their bodies twisting as they let out low roars.

It was dark, and the sound of the wind and rain outside echoed clearly through the hallway. Paired with the hoarse roars, the echoes were deafening. The four figures moved like phantoms; a scene from a horror movie was unfolding before their eyes.

Zhang Dan had already started running downstairs, and Su Rong, finally snapping out of it, turned and fled as well. Her heart hammered against her ribs, her mind a mess. After running down two floors, she reached the flooded levels.

Su Rong didn’t hesitate; she jumped straight in. Being a good swimmer, she was fine, but Zhang Dan—who couldn’t swim—was in trouble. She stood at the edge of the hallway, hesitating to jump. In those few seconds of indecision, the monsters caught up.

Before Su Rong’s eyes, the four monsters tackled Zhang Dan to the ground, tearing and biting frantically. Flesh was ripped apart, blood flowed out and even seeped into the water, and her piercing screams were gradually drowned out by the drumming of the heavy rain.

Soaking in the bone-chilling water, Su Rong’s teeth began to chatter. She was shaking all over, unsure if it was from the cold or the fear. She could only hold her breath and submerge her head.

Fortunately, those creatures didn’t follow her into the water; they seemed somewhat afraid of it. Not long after, Zhang Dan was actually assimilated into a similar monster. Half her face was chewed away, and a portion of her arm was missing, yet she could still prop herself up and waddle about, eventually wandering back into the hallway with the others.

Su Rong bit her lip hard, her tears mixing with the rainwater. She dared not make a sound. Only after they left did she surface to gasp for air. She swam slowly around to where the rafts were kept, boarded one, and rowed toward Building 3. She had even picked up the hammer Zhang Dan had dropped into the water.

However, as she sat there panting, Su Rong smelled a massive stench of blood. Panicked, she looked around, only to see monsters in the same condition as the property staff. They were scattered, moving through various units or banging on doors, but they hadn’t noticed her yet.

Su Rong took a deep breath, gripped the hammer, and moved upstairs in a crouch. As she climbed floor by floor, she saw these anomalies distributed everywhere. On the eleventh floor, she saw one crouched over another person, focused on biting.

Her presence immediately drew the monster’s attention. The figure jerked its head up, flesh hanging from its teeth, and lunged at her with a hiss.

She dodged to the side and raised the hammer, slamming it hard into the monster’s head. The creature fell to the ground struggling, a crack in its scalp oozing blood, but it didn’t die or pass out. Instead, it showed signs of standing back up.

Su Rong backed away in fright, wanting to continue upstairs, when she ran into Feng Xi, who was running out of a unit with her clothes in disarray and tears in her eyes. Behind her came Wang Zhigang, clutching a bleeding eye and chasing her in a rage.

“You dead woman! I gave you face and you threw it back?! It’s your blessing that I took an interest in you!!” Wang Zhigang was howling in pain but didn’t stop cursing. “You poked my eye out; I’m going to make sure you die a miserable death!”

Sobbing, Feng Xi grabbed Su Rong’s arm seeking help. Seeing that there was no time to linger and that Wang Zhigang was still approaching, Su Rong slammed the hammer into the man’s neck, grabbed Feng Xi’s hand, and led her up the stairs.

Wang Zhigang, his eye injured and neck struck by the hammer, retreated a few steps, nearly unable to stand from the pain. He and Feng Xi had been in the apartment for days. At first, he tried to act polite, hoping she would be willing, but eventually lost patience. He finally couldn’t help but reveal his nature and tried to take her by force!

But before he could finish stripping her, Feng Xi struck his eyeball with a hairpin she had hidden. Bleeding profusely and nearly fainting from the pain, Wang Zhigang was enraged. At that moment, he felt a murderous intent. He swore that once he caught this woman, he would torture her until she wished for death!

But Su Rong had appeared out of nowhere. Just as Wang Zhigang recovered slightly, something bit his hand. He turned in pain to see a man with a bloody head and a rotting body lying on the ground; he could faintly recognize him as Old Zhou from downstairs.

Wang Zhigang kicked him away in terror, but a piece of flesh had been torn from his hand. Covered in sweat from the pain, he screamed, “Darn it! What kind of ghost is this?!”

That shout alerted other zombies. Their attention was drawn; those from downstairs and inside the units all ran toward the source of the noise. Wang Zhigang finally realized something was wrong, and terror finally flooded his mind.

He instinctively ran toward the upper floors, with a massive horde of zombies charging right after him.

The two women reached the top floor with nowhere left to run. Exhausted, Su Rong used her last bit of strength to bang on the door, seeking help from whoever was inside. She remembered that only 1501 had people on this floor—Luo Sheng and her girlfriend. Feng Xi, in her fright, also began to shout and knock.

Luo Sheng was jolted awake by the commotion. Nan Shuwan was sleeping muzzily in her arms. She nudged her and said in a deep voice, “Nan Shuwan, wake up.”

Hearing the massive banging, Nan Shuwan opened her eyes in a daze, then immediately sat up, the lingering warmth of Luo Sheng’s embrace still on her.

Luo Sheng moved quickly to the peephole to observe. The others in the house also emerged from their bedrooms, coming into the living room looking terrified. Qiao Bai even held the rolling pin she had cleaned yesterday.

“What is it? What’s going on now?” Luo Xiaoli asked anxiously. She hadn’t slept well and looked haggard with dark circles under her eyes.

Luo Sheng waved her hand for silence. Through the peephole, she saw Su Rong and Feng Xi, covered in filth, frantically pounding on the door with their arms and hands. They were crying out for help, looking exceptionally desperate.

Luo Sheng’s gaze darkened, but she did not open the door. She heard a larger commotion—a continuous sound of footsteps on the stairs, many times louder than yesterday. The noise was drawing closer; it seemed a large wave of people was charging toward this floor.

Zombies?

Seeing Luo Sheng remain silent, Qiao Bai couldn’t help but peer through the hole. She instinctively called out, “Sister Rong!” The sound against the door was immediately heard by those outside. Su Rong, as if catching a lifesaver, begged Qiao Bai, “Xiaobai, please open the door… save me, please save me!”

Qiao Bai’s heart tightened, her hand moving to the doorknob, but she immediately let go. She turned to look at the grim-faced Luo Sheng. She knew she had no right to do this; opening the door would surely bring trouble to everyone in the house. She couldn’t and shouldn’t do it.

She shut her mouth and remained silent. Listening to the pleas outside, Qiao Bai steeled her heart and slowly moved aside.

Wang Zhigang reached the top floor ahead of the zombies. Seeing Feng Xi and Su Rong there, he was delighted and moved to grab them, but with that “whatever-it-was” following behind, he also wanted the residents to open the door so they could hide.

Feng Xi hid behind Su Rong in terror. At this point, Wang Zhigang’s state was so bizarre it terrified them both. He hadn’t noticed his arm turning a bruised purple, and his vision was becoming blurry—everything seen through his other eye was a bloody red.

He was losing his sight; it felt as if something was controlling his brain, making him increasingly irritable, wanting to crush the life out of everyone in front of him.

He followed his instinct, opening his mouth to bite Feng Xi. Su Rong slammed the hammer into his forehead. Blood gushed out, but Wang Zhigang’s consciousness hadn’t fully collapsed yet; he was still screaming in pain.

Wounded all over, he retreated several steps and collapsed. The horde of zombies reached the fifteenth floor, just one level below, about to charge.

Feng Xi was crying hysterically, kneeling and kowtowing. Su Rong sat on the floor as if giving up, waiting for death.

Nan Shuwan looked at Luo Sheng with a complex expression. Though she didn’t speak, Luo Sheng understood. Her hand stayed on the doorknob without moving. Finally, with a sigh of compromise, she reached out to Nan Shuwan. Seeing this, Nan Shuwan immediately placed the keys from her pocket into Luo Sheng’s hand.

They didn’t speak, yet they knew perfectly well what the other wanted to do.

Luo Sheng crouched and slid the keys through the narrow gap at the bottom of the door. Then, she said to the outside: “It’s in the hands of fate now. This is all I can help you with.”

Su Rong looked down and understood instantly. Trembling, she picked up the keys, grabbed Feng Xi—who was still kneeling—and rushed to open the door of 1502 across the hall.

The zombies charged in a pack. Wang Zhigang lay on the floor, his limbs being torn apart as he vomited blood and convulsed. The keys shook in Su Rong’s hand; in extreme tension, people become more clumsy. The keyhole felt elusive. Feng Xi was drenched in tears.

At the final moment, just as a zombie’s claws were about to touch them, the door finally opened. Both rushed inside. As the zombies tried to follow, Su Rong used both her hands and feet; she kicked one zombie back and slammed her hammer hard into its head.

Finally, the door slammed shut. They entered the safety zone, leaving the pack of zombies banging relentlessly on the door.

Feng Xi cried uncontrollably, while Su Rong sat silently on the floor, pale and bloodless. Seeing the woman’s clothes were torn, she patted Feng Xi’s back, pulled her into an embrace, and comforted her softly, “It’s okay now, don’t cry…”

Luo Sheng watched intently. Seeing Su Rong and Feng Xi successfully escape, she breathed a secret sigh of relief. But the zombies outside didn’t leave. Wang Zhigang, in particular, used his heavy body to keep hitting the door of 1502, as if he had some lingering obsession.

Logically, once the noise stopped, they should have wandered off aimlessly. What was happening?

A terrifying thought surfaced in Luo Sheng’s mind: Are the zombies evolving? Yesterday they judged locations by sound, but now they could pursue the scent of living people. In just one night, their growth rate was so fast it was bone-chilling.

However, Luo Sheng’s door was a reinforced steel door; it wouldn’t be breached easily. But across the hall, Su Rong and Feng Xi weren’t as comfortable. The sound of the impacts was massive, each thud feeling like a blow to the heart.

Luo Sheng sat back on the sofa. She saw the floodwater still rising, nearing the ninth floor. She didn’t know if there were any survivors on the lower floors; she estimated most had been assimilated into zombies, with only a few in the high-rises still alive.

But once their food ran out, they would have to go out, only to find zombies waiting. It seemed there was no way out.

“What’s the situation now?” Nan Shuwan put the blanket aside. “Those zombies won’t leave?”

Luo Sheng shook her head. “Su Rong and Feng Xi are safe for now, but those things are still hitting the door. I feel like they’re getting stronger. Maybe they have a more accurate judgment of living locations…”

Everyone gasped. Nan Chu rubbed her face, unsure of what to do. “Are we just going to let those things hit the door every day? A day or two is fine, but if more come, the door won’t hold forever…”

“Why don’t we…” Nan Chu paused. “Each of us take a knife and charge out to settle those things? It’s better than living in fear every day.”

Luo Sheng gave her a helpless look and immediately rejected the idea. “Can you handle that many zombies? This house is still safe. Every day we don’t go out is another day we live. It’s better to wait and see.”

“She’s right. We can’t act recklessly,” Nan Shuwan agreed. “Besides, do you even know where the fatal spot on a zombie is? Don’t end up getting ‘settled’ yourself.”

Nan Chu was confident. “Isn’t it the head? Movies are always about headshots!”

Nan Shuwan disagreed. “I saw through the peephole that some of those zombies only had half a head left, yet they could still move. That proves the fatal spot isn’t the head.”

“She’s right. Maybe it’s the heart…” Luo Sheng chimed in.

“Anything is possible. So for now, let’s not act rashly.”

As Nan Shuwan finished, silence fell again. Luo Xiaoli knit her brows in worry, while Qiao Bai and her girlfriend were deathly pale. Only the roars and banging outside drifted through the living room.

The next few days passed in such terror. Except for Luo Xiaoli, everyone took turns keeping watch in the living room at night to ensure any danger was reported immediately.

Luo Sheng didn’t check on Su Rong and Feng Xi across the hall. Nan Shuwan’s apartment should still have some food; they should be able to last for a while.

After nearly a week, Ma Shu, who had been surviving in his unit on the tenth floor, opened his door, exhausted. The water had reached his floor. He had turned out everything edible in the house; now there wasn’t a drop of water left. Ma Shu had even resorted to collecting rainwater to quench his thirst.

But the rainwater seemed to make his body feel worse. He knew there were bloodthirsty monsters outside, but he was starving to death and his home was about to be submerged. Pushed to a dead end, Ma Shu completely lost his will to live.

At the very end, however, he decided to take a few down to hell with him. As a pack of zombies flooded into his living room through the open door, Ma Shu resolutely ignited the gas tank in the kitchen.

A massive explosion followed.

Inside the unit, the bodies of all the zombies were blown into fragments within the flames. A fire broke out, emitting thick black smoke and echoing through the entire building.

Su Rong was jolted awake by the blast. She wanted to get up to check the situation, but Feng Xi held her, unwilling to let her leave. She sounded a bit aggrieved. “Don’t go. I… I’m scared…”

During these days, the two had slept together every day for warmth. Feng Xi had come to rely on Su Rong; she was the one who protected and saved her. If Su Rong moved a step away, Feng Xi felt a massive sense of insecurity.

“I’m not leaving. I’m just going to the window to see what happened.”

After comforting her softly, Su Rong hurried to the window, opened it slightly, and looked down. The water level wasn’t far from their floor. And… Su Rong’s eyes widened, unable to believe what she saw.

The zombies, who were previously afraid of the water, were now actually swimming in it. Packs of zombies from other buildings in the community were also jumping into the water. They looked exactly like a school of fish crowding together to fight for food.

And they were heading toward the source of the explosion—the direction of their building—a massive black mass, swimming frantically toward them.