"Ugh... Initially, I didn't feel that disgusted, but after you vomited, it made me want to gag too!"
The smell of blood mixed with a sour stench, coupled with the gory scene in front of them, was truly nerve-wracking.
Zhang Su forcefully suppressed the feeling of nausea, reached out and patted Zheng Xinyu's back as she dry heaved against the wall, and said, "Let's go, let's head back first!"
Faced with the bloody scene, Zhang Su had his own coping mechanism. As long as he thought of turning into one of those things if bitten by the creature in front of him, he wanted to smash it several more times, and the disgust instantly weakened!
Zheng Xinyu turned her head to look at Zhang Su, with stomach mucus and a few grains of rice still hanging from her chin. Just as she was about to speak, nausea surged again, and she hurriedly dry heaved against the wall once more.
"I feel so awful, I feel so awful..."
Holding her chest and stomach, Zheng Xinyu's tone was strange, a blend of wanting to vomit while still trying to talk, feeling as if she were about to throw up her insides.
"Oh dear, if you keep vomiting like this, no matter how much you eat, it won't be enough for you to waste!"
Zhang Su lightly patted Zheng Xinyu's back while looking at the door of room 802.
With such a commotion at the door, it was impossible for the people in 802 not to know. Now that the zombie was dealt with, they couldn't even bother to come out?
As far as he knew, no one lived in 802. The homeowner was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, and the last time he saw him was two years ago, an accidental meeting in the elevator without exchanging words.
He was perplexed and surprised by the sudden appearance of a woman from 802, but he had no intention of investigating further.
Suddenly, the sound of machinery operating rang out, and Zhang Su took a few steps to look towards the elevator, discovering that it was moving, ascending from the third floor.
"The elevator's moving, let's go, get inside, hurry!"
Zhang Su wrapped his arm around Zheng Xinyu's waist, dragging and pulling her back into the room!
He didn't know what was going on with the elevator; maybe someone was coming up, maybe a zombie inside the elevator accidentally pressed a floor, or maybe someone called for it. It's uncertain, but being exposed outside was extremely unsafe.
Supporting Zheng Xinyu back into the room, before the door was even closed, she plopped down onto the ground, the baseball bat clattering down beside her, with a trail of bloodstains on it.
"Boo... boohoo."
Overwhelmed with emotions, Zheng Xinyu pouted and cried, looking at Zhang Su with immense grievance.
She felt a sense of pride as if she had accomplished the most remarkable feat in her life, yet also felt coerced into doing something that filled her with fear and reluctance.
In this situation, anyone who didn't know the circumstances might think that Zhang Su had done something to Zheng Xinyu.
Zhang Su was poking his head out to check on the elevator situation, and hearing Zheng Xinyu cry, he gave her a gentle nudge with his foot, meaning for her to stop crying.
"The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, Xinyu, do you think it's a human or a zombie?"
Distracting with a serious question was the best solace.
Indeed, after Zhang Su asked, Zheng Xinyu's crying diminished into soft sobs, quivering as she said, "It, it must be a human, a human. Zombies, zombies wouldn't use an elevator!"
"What if a zombie trapped in the elevator accidentally touched a floor? It's not impossible!"
Zhang Su analyzed very seriously. After speaking, he gently opened the door and stepped outside.
"Where are you going!?"
It was as if Zheng Xinyu had springs on her rear; seeing Zhang Su head outside, she immediately got up and clutched his arm, refusing to let go.
"I'm going to the stairwell to listen for any noise, and at the same time lock the emergency door!"
Zhang Su patted Zheng Xinyu's slightly trembling hand.
With the crisis at the door resolved, his heart was much more at ease, feeling as if the activity range had been slightly expanded.
Standing inside the door, Zheng Xinyu watched Zhang Su intently as he slowly walked towards the emergency door, unable to stop imagining zombies suddenly rushing out from the stairwell to attack. Suddenly, she realized she was unarmed, hurriedly squatting down to retrieve the baseball bat for a small sense of security.
As Zhang Su walked towards the security door, he glanced back at the previous battlefield. The zombie lay weakly against the door of 802. He initially thought of dragging the zombie away, but then decided against it, annoyed by the reluctance of 802 to contribute any effort, so he left it be!
Upon reaching the stairwell, Zhang Su looked up and down; it was eerily quiet, so quiet that he could hear shouts coming through the distant window, unclear in meaning, not knowing if it was a cry for help or the wails before death.
Someone's pickle jar was broken below, with the faint scent of blood mixed with pickles, utterly discordant.
The silence was terrifying.
Usually, the emergency passage was quite deserted; not many would idly climb the stairs except for the cleaning staff who would clean regularly. However, these were not ordinary times, and the empty staircase fueled endless imaginations amidst the zombie outbreak ambiance.
"No movement at all, seems it's not a person..."
Zhang Su frowned, pondering. If someone were in the elevator to the sixth floor, or if someone on the sixth floor pressed the elevator, there should've been some noise. But now it was as silent as an ancient well.
Reaching the middle of the staircase, Zhang Su peered through the gap, spotting two swaying arms at the bottom, easily discerning from their movements that they were zombies!
Unsafe!
There's no safe place outside!
Zhang Su cautiously retreated back into the hallway, slowly closing the safety door, only to find the lock was broken, muttering a silent curse at the property management, he left it ajar, planning to secure it with something later.
"Is there a problem?"
As Zhang Su re-entered the room, Zheng Xinyu hurriedly asked, gently closing the door, locking it with a click, somewhat easing her tension.
"I didn't hear any noise."
Zhang Su shook his head gravely.
"No noise is good, no noise is good..."
Zheng Xinyu swallowed, her lips somewhat pale.
"Let's go, rest inside."
Zhang Su carried the hatchet, habitually lowering his voice, and as he led the way, he suddenly turned back to ask, "Do I have dirt on my face?"
"Just a bit on your chin and neck, will, will it be okay?" Zheng Xinyu asked nervously.
Zhang Su shook his head, removing his protective gear, "I don't know, should be fine, but it's better to wash it clean as soon as possible..."
Speaking about using water, he frowned slightly; if it weren't necessary, he truly didn't want to waste life's vital resource.
"Right!"
Zhang Su exclaimed lightly, disregarding washing up and turning back to head towards the door again.
"What are you going to do again?"
Zheng Xinyu hurriedly followed with small steps, clutching the baseball bat tightly, quickly forming the good habit of keeping a weapon close at hand.
Zhang Su peered outside through the cat-eye, gently opened the door, and said, "Looting!"
"Loot..."
Zheng Xinyu's mind paused, seeing Zhang Su heading towards the dead zombie, she immediately understood the meaning of looting.
Upon seeing the bowl-like head again, Zheng Xinyu couldn't help but want to retch, quickly focusing her attention on Zhang Su, who adeptly pulled out a bunch of keys from the zombie's body!