Inside the bedroom, utterly dark, both King Tang and the other person pressed closely against the door, motionless and quietly listening to the sounds outside.
It was July, the hot summer heat quickly drenched the two nestled inside the sealed room, yet despite this, their tense minds were chilled by the fact of being trapped in a land of undead danger.
Outside the wooden door, about a dozen zombies attracted by the noise clustered in the narrow corridor, emitting low growls, evidently frustrated and irritable over coming up empty-handed.
In addition, the zombie army continued to flock from the ground floor, soon encircling the entire building like water.
"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~" The occasional sound of collisions shivered the heartstrings of the two young men inside.
Such scenes, Tang Xiaoquan admitted he'd seen many times, but solely in films and games — fictional scenarios projected onto virtual landscapes, yet now...
This terrifying collision, the haunting footsteps, and the suffocating roars all seemed so chilling, making him even question if this truly was reality.
Sweat rolled down his cheeks like a stream, alongside the long midnight hours.
Tang Xiaoquan had never found the night so extensive, knowing full well how often he spent all night gaming and entertaining. But now... he desperately wished it was all but a dream!
Yet hope is beautiful, but reality is cruel! Every bang outside the room, every growl constantly reminded him of a fact:
The apocalypse has arrived!!
No one knows when a gentle light finally appeared in the pitch-black bedroom.
With the emergence of light, both King Tang and the other person, mentally drained and numbed, were jolted with shock, proving that the conventional belief that light gives strength holds some truth.
With an ear tightly against the door, Tang Xiaoquan listened carefully to the sounds outside. Moments later, he gestured to Wang Qiang beside him, signaling him to step away from the door. Then he slowly opened a small gap, gradually enlarging it until his entire head peered out.
"How is it, Quanzi, have the zombies... left?" Wang Qiang swallowed subconsciously, anxiously whispering.
Retracting his body at a snail's pace, Tang Xiaoquan slightly calmed his nerves, then pointed outside, saying, "The front door is intact, no zombies in the living room, but we need to confirm what's outside."
Due to the rented apartment's two-bedroom, one-living-room design, with Tang Xiaoquan's bedroom directly aligned with the front door, merely observing from one side couldn't clarify the corridor situation; yet amidst the current scenario, this was fortunate.
As long as the front door remains intact, there's still hope; next...
Sweeping his gaze around the room, Tang Xiaoquan's eyes finally landed on the vanity mirror atop the computer desk.
Perhaps this could work! Almost an epiphany, a rough plan formed in Tang Xiaoquan's mind.
Slowly bending down, Wang Qiang watched in confusion as Tang Xiaoquan, already crawling, gradually distanced himself, inwardly asking, "Hey, Quanzi, what are you doing?"
Ignoring the question from behind, Tang Xiaoquan reached the computer desk, carefully pocketed the vanity mirror placed there, and returned as originally planned.
"I intend to use this to check outside!"
Seeing the mirror in Tang Xiaoquan's hand, Wang Qiang immediately understood, smiling lightly. Despite his friend's goofy antics, during crucial moments, he sure pulls through.
With his body fully lowered to the ground, Tang Xiaoquan pressed closely against the wall crack to avoid revealing himself as much as possible.
Perhaps too stressed, Tang Xiaoquan felt his heart racing like a boiling kettle, while the sweat on his forehead pounded like unleashed floodwaters.
Forcefully blinking twice against sweat-soaked eyes, a bitter sting promptly struck. Tang Xiaoquan resisted the urge to wipe it off, striving to control his heavy breaths, then cautiously extended the mirror into his grip.
Through several adjustments, Tang Xiaoquan clearly saw through a broken hole in the wooden door, perceiving the situation outside.
"The persistence of these zombies exceeds my expectations!"
The moving shadows deepened the gloom within Tang Xiaoquan's heart as he retracted the mirror and stepped back.
"How is it? Zombies, are they...?"
"No!" Tang Xiaoquan helplessly lowered the mirror, heaving a long sigh, then casually wiped away sweat while adding, "A few are still wandering outside."
"How many? If not many, should we just..." Wang Qiang showed a resolute expression, making a silencing gesture, but Tang Xiaoquan bitterly shook his head:
"I can't ascertain how many, but, Qiang, unless absolutely necessary let's refrain from direct contact with these brutes — who knows what attacks they might possess!"
Indifferently nodding along, recalling the words of the TV host yesterday, Wang Qiang believed the government began addressing the crisis, so just endure until rescue arrives, then...
"Quanzi, since that's the case, how about we just bunker down in here, anyway in a few days this chaos will subside. Besides, we're..."
"No!" A harsh rejection of Wang Qiang's suggestion — not because he doubted the government's ability, but from known information, Tang Xiaoquan sensed the crisis wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. Solving it in days might be simply impossible.
"Qiang, we cannot stay here, under this weather, without water, we wouldn't survive three days. We have to rescue ourselves!"
The first rule of survival, initial self-rescue determines whether you can live on amidst a crisis.
Recalling survival laws from some survival documentary he came across, Tang Xiaoquan felt a surge of emotion. Knowing these were simply recreational hobbies, who'd expect them to genuinely become survival guidelines one day?
Thus, how, without conflict, could he drive away these bloody, brutal zombies?
Tang Xiaoquan fell into deep contemplation...