Seducing and Flirting with Boss O While Stockpiling in the Apocalypse (GL) - Chapter 44

She was struggling to breathe, but she didn’t dare stop for a single second. After so many days without a proper meal, she was already extremely weak, and with this sudden, intense exertion, Liu Lin felt her body reaching its absolute physical limit.

There were several zombies scattered throughout the twelfth floor, but the fear and terror Liu Lin had felt earlier were gone; her extreme grief had transformed into a raw mix of rage and hatred.

The thought of her mother’s death filled Liu Lin with uncontrollable fury. With red-rimmed eyes and a massive surge of adrenaline, she swung her knife into a zombie’s neck, a spray of blood drenching her instantly.

However, the zombie did not go down. Even with the blade wedged in its neck, the mangled, rotting body continued to lunge toward her. Liu Lin didn’t want to die here, so she stopped fighting and turned to sprint up the stairs.

The zombies that had climbed the rope were already inside her apartment through the window and were now charging out of the front door. More and more zombies were attracted by the noise, spreading like a virus, all chasing in Liu Lin’s direction.

Inside their apartment, Luo Sheng’s group heard the commotion. They gripped their weapons, not daring to relax for an instant.

When Liu Lin reached the fifteenth floor, the horde of zombies was right behind her. She had only a kitchen knife and no way to retreat; she considered knocking on the doors of the residents on this floor for help.

But Liu Lin knew in her heart that no one would help her at a time like this. With such a vast number of zombies, there was no reason for anyone to open their door.

She glanced at the open stairwell; it seemed to be her only escape—unless she jumped from here into the water to swim away. But there were many zombies in the water, too; jumping would most likely result in being bitten to death.

Liu Lin had long since run out of stamina. She couldn’t resist so many zombies alone, and her heart gradually grew cold with despair.

She was afraid of dying—no one is fearless in the face of death—but now Liu Lin felt more chilled by the situation itself. Thinking of the escape opportunity her mother had traded her life for, and the fact that she couldn’t even manage to flee, she felt utterly useless.

As waves of self-blame washed over her, Liu Lin wept silently. She sniffed and raised her kitchen knife, preparing for a fight to the death. At the very least, she would kill as many as she could, avenging her mother.

The massive number of zombies stumbled and crowded the hallway. Some fell to the floor, but the ones behind didn’t care, trampling over their backs to charge forward.

Liu Lin’s gaze became steady and resolute. However, before she could rush to her death, she felt her collar being seized from behind. Before she could react, she was pulled backward several steps into an apartment.

With a heavy thud, the door closed, and the zombies slammed into it.

Liu Lin turned around, shaken, and saw a familiar face. It was Su Rong.

She wept continuously, her voice trembling with a mix of gratitude and lingering fear. “Sister Rong, why are you here…?”

Su Rong was the head of property management, so naturally, the owners living here all knew her.

“It’s a long story; now isn’t the time.” Su Rong was wrapped up tightly, her expression grim. “The zombies have all been drawn here. We aren’t that safe inside this unit either.”

Liu Lin nodded, her self-blame returning. She blamed herself for insisting on leaving today, which indirectly led to her mother’s death and drew so many zombies to Su Rong’s floor. If anything happened to the others because of her, she would be guilty for the rest of her life.

A salty, bitter taste rose in her throat as she choked, unable to find the words to reply. Seeing the young girl’s pale lips and sickly face, Feng Xi hurried to pour a glass of water for her and handed over a piece of compressed biscuit.

With eyes full of tears, Liu Lin said thank you and drained the glass in one go. Her parched throat soothed and having eaten a few bites of the biscuit, she felt some of her strength return.

Su Rong signaled for them to stay quiet while she kept her eye on the peephole. A vast number of zombies were relentlessly hitting the door with no intention of stopping. They looked determined to fight to the end; they felt no fatigue or pain, only the instinct to attack and devour the flesh of the living.

A portion of the horde went across the hall to hit the other door. Luo Sheng had seen everything through the peephole, but despite her hesitation, she ultimately didn’t open her door. She had never seen this girl before, and she had no habit of rescuing strangers in the middle of an apocalypse.

With so many zombies at the door, and with six people inside—more than the unit across the hall—the scent of the living was stronger. Sensing the presence of humans, the zombies slammed frantically against Luo Sheng’s reinforced steel door.

Everyone inside was in a state of high tension, terrified the door would suddenly be breached.

It had to be said that the impact of the zombie horde was massive. The door thudded and rattled, making everyone’s hearts race in sync with the strikes.

Nan Chu had nearly been bitten by these things before; the memory of being chased was vivid, and she felt both terror and unease. Despite the cold, she began to sweat, the roars and bangs battering the precarious defenses of her mind.

A single door was all that stood between life and death for everyone.

“Ah!”

While everyone’s attention was fixed on the door, Qiao Bai suddenly let out a scream. Luo Sheng turned to ask what happened, and Qiao Bai pointed at the window, trembling. “Zombies! The zombies are climbing up from here!”

The words were like a thunderclap on a clear day.

Nan Shuwan’s heart skipped a beat, and she sprinted to the window. Looking down, she saw many zombies actually climbing up a rope. The water level had already risen to the tenth floor, not far from their current level.

In the midst of the heavy rain, wind, and thunder, under the dark, crowded clouds, packs of hideous zombies climbing up from the water looked like water ghouls coming to claim lives. Nan Shuwan’s face turned pale at the horrific sight.

Luo Sheng hurried over, her heart also racing. Having been confined to the house, she had never faced zombies head-on; she had no confidence, and the shadow of death from her previous life loomed large.

Facing natural disasters in her past life and now an attack by these monsters, Luo Sheng couldn’t help but wonder why the path to survival was so difficult.

Although the hemp rope only reached the twelfth floor and many zombies had crawled into Liu Lin’s unit through the broken glass, a portion of them kept trying to climb higher. They stacked on top of one another, stepping on outdoor AC units and the heads of other zombies, forming a long, human-centipede-like chain.

Floor after floor, they smashed the glass with their hands and heads. The zombies were bloodied but had no intention of stopping, and those who made it through the windows continued up the hallway toward the fifteenth floor.

More and more zombies gathered at the door, while others were climbing outside the window. Even reinforced glass wasn’t as sturdy as the door; if enough zombies reached their floor, they could easily break through.

Seeing the creatures about to reach them, and with Nan Chu and Qiao Bai frantically asking what to do, Luo Sheng’s gaze darkened. Decisive in crisis, she immediately retrieved several bottles of alcohol and a bucket of diesel from her storage space.

She had stockpiled plenty of diesel when she bought the rafts. In addition to the manual inflatable rafts, she had also bought small assault boats driven by engines.

Luo Sheng barked, “Open the window, quick!”

The others were still in a daze, not understanding her intent, but Nan Shuwan had already reacted. She immediately unlocked the window for Luo Sheng, and cold wind and rain instantly blew in.

Luo Sheng acted fast, pouring a bucket of diesel out the window. Nan Shuwan picked up an alcohol bottle, soaked a cloth in it, and wrapped it around a wooden stick.

The diesel poured directly onto the climbing zombies; some even hissed and opened their mouths to catch the liquid.

Nan Chu caught on as well. She pulled out her lighter and ignited the alcohol-soaked cloth. The flames flared up instantly. A zombie had already reached the edge of the open window; seeing this, Qiao Bai slammed her iron rod into it in terror.

Nan Chu quickly threw the flaming torch downward, landing it precisely among the zombies. The diesel ignited instantly, and the fire spread from top to bottom, looking like a long skewer of grilled meat.

Zombies were still flesh and blood, after all. Engulfed in raging flames, the zombies at the top let out low, frantic roars and fell backward, knocking down the entire chain of zombies behind them into the water.

Luo Sheng quickly locked the window again, her heart pounding wildly.

It had taken immense courage to open the window just now. If they hadn’t succeeded in igniting the fire, or if Nan Chu’s aim had been off, the zombies would have crawled inside.

Fortunately, the crisis outside the window was temporarily solved, but the zombies at the door remained, relentlessly hitting it again and again.

Luo Xiaoli’s legs began to go weak. Her white-streaked hair was tied back, and her body was tense, but her age was a factor; she couldn’t match the stamina of the younger people.

The days of living in fear had left her exhausted, and the events just now made her feel faint and short of breath. At this moment, Luo Xiaoli realized how close death truly was.

Even so, she was determined not to hold her daughter back. She steeled herself and gripped her knife, staring intently at the front door.

Luo Sheng retrieved several life jackets from the space and signaled for everyone to put them on. If the way forward was blocked, their only choice would be to retreat via the water.

Thud!

Thud!

Bang—

The door panel began to shudder under the collective force. Everyone nearly forgot to breathe, staring in frozen silence at the door.

In the high-tension atmosphere, a screw on the door lock suddenly loosened and hit the floor with a sharp clank.