When the sound of success from the man outside reached his eardrums, Tang Xiaoquan's tense body finally collapsed onto the ground. Yet, even so, a faint smile still managed to emerge on his face, already drenched in sweat.
"I did it! I really did it!" Reflecting on everything that had just happened, Tang Xiaoquan felt as if he were in a dream.
Without disturbing the brother lying on the floor, Wang Qiang could imagine what the latter had gone through in the past 20 minutes. So, after confirming there were no issues with him, he simply left the kitchen. Although they had successfully driven away the zombies, their crisis was far from over.
At the wooden door, looking at the corpse of the zombie hanging on the door panel, Wang Qiang couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. It was hard for him to imagine how he had the courage to fight such terrifying creatures at such close range last night.
However, he didn't dwell on this problem for too long. A few seconds later, he waved away those unrealistic thoughts from his mind, took a deep breath, and pushed the corpse off the wooden door.
"Bang!"
The sound of the body hitting the ground wasn't loud, but in the silent and empty hallway, it was as if it had been amplified by a loudspeaker, instantly shaking Wang Qiang's nerves.
Not just him; even Tang Xiaoquan, who had been making close contact with the floor in the kitchen, jumped up as if a thunderbolt had struck him, and rushed out of the kitchen.
"What's happening?" Eyes wide like saucers, Tang Xiaoquan asked, full of tension.
Feeling deeply apologetic, Wang Qiang pointed at the hole in the wooden door and sighed lightly, "Well, I wasn't paying attention when I was pushing the zombie just now, so..."
"Quick, go to the bedroom and find a thick T-shirt, I'll go get the packing tape, hurry up!" Before the other could finish speaking, Tang Xiaoquan had already said his piece and disappeared from Wang Qiang's sight.
What it means for time to be life, what it means to race against the clock, Wang Qiang truly understood. To prevent tragedy from repeating, he almost flew to the cabinet and dug out his spare clothes, then dashed back to the wooden door.
When they reconnected, Tang Xiaoquan still didn't have a word of nonsense. He efficiently sorted through the pile of clothes, picking out those thin and shallow ones, and didn't stop until he found a dark, thick T-shirt. Only then did he tear open the packing tape and, in cooperation with Wang Qiang, quickly sealed the broken wooden door.
As for why he chose thick and dark clothes, the reason was simple: to prevent zombies from seeing the situation inside. After all, thin and light clothes could easily reveal the interior lights at night, greatly increasing their exposure risk. So...
With the sound of "ssssss" from pulling and sticking, the hole was sealed in no time. Although it looked far from aesthetically pleasing, survival was an issue for Tang Wang at that moment, leaving them no time to worry about appearances.
After finishing one task, Tang Wang immediately started adjusting the wooden door's defenses. Everything happened so quickly last night, leading to hasty stacking that didn't fully utilize available materials like shoe cabinets.
To ensure they wouldn't have another nerve-wracking night, Tang Wang had to re-plan the door's defenses. This time, they not only added sturdy items like the sofa to reinforce the wooden door's resistance but also moved out all chairs and stools along with some small items to construct a second line of defense.
After doing all this, the two young men almost simultaneously collapsed onto the ground, instantly feeling overtaken by the exhaustion from excessive tension and fatigue, Tang Xiaoquan didn't even have the strength to stand.
Just sitting there with their backs against the wall, neither Tang nor Wang spoke, and perhaps as if heaven felt the misery and plight of these two young men, the flesh-eating zombies didn't return like they did last night. Otherwise, given their current state, resisting, let alone escaping, would probably have been out of question.
Time slipped by unknowingly, and the rising sun slowly crept above the horizon, bringing with it long-missed sunlight and heat.
After half an hour of resting and adjusting, Tang and Wang slightly restored their depleted energy.
Tang Xiaoquan lifted his arm to sniff at his sweat-soaked clothing and couldn't help but wrinkle his eyebrows. In normal times, he's quite particular about cleanliness and never experienced not bathing throughout a summer night, but now... he just let out a bitter smile and shook his head.
Struggling to stand up, dragging legs that felt like they were filled with lead, he stumbled into the bathroom. Tang Xiaoquan casually poured some hot water into the basin and began to wash up.
The warm drops of water meandering along his body with the washcloth brought such comfort that Tang Xiaoquan closed his eyes in satisfaction, feeling as if the fatigue was melting away with the water's warmth.
The whole washing process didn't take long, but by the time it was over, Tang Xiaoquan felt as if he had been reborn.
Quickly rubbing off the water on his skin, Tang Xiaoquan pulled out a thin shirt from the wardrobe, threw it on, and headed straight to the balcony.
On the balcony, Wang Qiang stood with arms crossed behind his back, his sweat-drenched back still as if entranced.
Tang Xiaoquan tiptoed over, lightly patted Wang Qiang's shoulder, and then looked out, immediately sucking in a chilly breath.
The desolate street, cars with doors wide open crashed together, scattered parcels flung carelessly across the ground, and dozens of ghastly zombies wandering aimlessly, occasionally glancing around like shoppers. At the spot where they gathered, two long, slanted trails of blood appeared horribly under the sunlight.
Taking a deep breath, Tang Xiaoquan murmured gravely, "This is the end of the world!"
Reaching for his phone, Tang Xiaoquan was about to test for signal, but Wang Qiang beside him remarked lightly, "Quan, there's no need to try, there's no signal!"
Nodding indifferently, though he was mentally prepared, when every expectation turned into reality, the disappointment deep within still made Tang Xiaoquan feel utterly despondent.
"Do you think the government can resolve this crisis?" Staring at the distant blazing fire, Wang Qiang asked, slightly lost.
For his brother's query, Tang Xiaoquan naturally could not answer, but after a moment of silence, he firmly gave his own answer: "Qiang! Regardless of whether the government can resolve this crisis, we have to stay strong and survive!"