Chapter 86: Bloody Service Area (1)

  "That's the deal, then. If he wants to leave, he can. Let this coward come up and slit his own wrists. Once we've collected enough blood for both of you, we'll take him with us. Coward, you only get one chance. I'm going to count to three. If you're not up here by then, we'll say goodbye forever!" Zhang Xu sat on the table, sneering as he pointed a small knife at Zhang Liping. He enunciated each word slowly and deliberately: "One... two... three..."

  "Fine, fine! I'll do it, okay?" Zhang Liping, with a deathly pale face, shuffled forward hesitantly, as if navigating a minefield. He inched forward, step by step, until he finally stood in front of Zhang Xu. Then, with his eyes closed and his hand trembling, he extended his left wrist and said through gritted teeth, "Brother, you... you do it for me. Just make the cut a little smaller than Xiao Wang's."

  "I can't guarantee anything. Everyone has their off days," Zhang Xu replied with a wicked grin. Just as Zhang Liping opened his eyes to speak, Zhang Xu swiftly sshed the knife across the raised wrist. Zhang Liping choked back the words that were almost at his lips and let out a blood-curdling scream as he clutched his wrist. He stared in disbelief at the nearly severed wound, shouting in horror, "Blood... blood... so much blood! I'm dying! I'm definitely dying! Help! Somebody save me!"

  "Stop your whining!" Zhang Xu grabbed the panicked Zhang Liping with disdain, forcefully pressed his wrist onto a tin can, and began squeezing the blood out while sneering, "Behave yourself. Losing some blood won't kill you. If you keep dawdling, your wound will heal up on its own!"

  Zhang Liping was shaking like a leaf, while Zhang Xu stood there, grinning carelessly. Gncing at the tin can, which was already half full of blood, he nodded in satisfaction, screwed the cap on, and shook the can triumphantly at Lin Tao. "Brother Lin, is this enough blood now?"

  "Should be," Lin Tao replied, nodding as he took the can. Then, under his direction, all the men in the room first smashed the tempered gss above the basement exit and then worked together to push a rge stainless steel stove over the edge of the second floor. It crashed down, smashing seven or eight zombies below and forming a makeshift barrier about a meter high at the exit, blocking the outer zombies while providing some protection for anyone exiting.

  "Brothers, we're ready!" Gao Chujiang and Gao Hai had used sheets and bnkets to fashion a rope, which they tightly secured around Gao Hai's wife. They had already discussed their pn: once Zhang Xu jumped down, they would lower Gao Hai's wife using the rope, with Zhang Xu catching her below. As for the others, all soft items like mattresses had already been thrown down to cushion any accidental falls.

  "Alright, everyone, be careful!" Lin Tao scanned the group, including Zhang Xu, whose faces were tense yet excited. He turned around slowly, standing in front of the shattered gss curtain wall, and looked out at the dense horde of zombies. His eyes quickly locked onto a particurly tall and foolish-looking zombie.

  "Whoosh..."

  With a flick of his wrist, Lin Tao hurled the tin can from his hand. It arced high into the air, flying far out to strike a rge, lumbering zombie on the outskirts. The brute, too big to maneuver within the horde, wandered aimlessly on the periphery, gnawing on the relentless sandstorm. The speeding object, gleaming in the dim light, struck its head square on. The zombie didn't even flinch, its gray eyes failing to lift so much as a fraction. Only when the object exploded against its skull, drenching its face and head in the blood it so desperately craved, did it finally react, its dull roar lost amidst the cacophony of the horde.

  "Roar..."

  The explosion of nearly 300 milliliters of blood on a zombie's head triggered a deafening roar from the horde. In their frenzied excitement, they couldn't distinguish between live humans and zombies. Their hunger for blood overrode all else; their shriveled brains instinctively knew that where there was blood, there was flesh. And zombies were never picky—blood or flesh, they would devour anything.

  "Let's go!"

  Seeing the horde swarm toward the rge zombie, Lin Tao, who had anticipated this, drew a machete from his back and leaped down first. Upon nding, he quickly dispatched two zombies blocking the exit with a few swift chops. Then, bending down, he kicked open the basement door with one foot, stepping on a corpse for leverage.

  "Cng..."

  As the iron door creaked open, Zhang Xu and Michael were the next to jump down. Michael swaggered into the basement behind Lin Tao, while Zhang Xu slung his rifle over his shoulder, waving upward as he nded. A dozen seconds ter, a pregnant woman was slowly lowered down by Gao Hai and the others using a rope.

  "Sister-in-w, hurry in!" Zhang Xu quickly pced the pregnant woman on the ground, cut the ropes binding her, and handed her his fshlight. Although Gao Hai's wife was a delicate woman, she wasted no time, taking the fshlight from Zhang Xu and briskly ascending the stairs inside. As for venturing further down, even as a woman, she hesitated, having just heard Lin Tao's brief description of the situation below. The mere mention of headless corpses sent chills down everyone's spines.

  With the pregnant woman safely inside, the rest of the group followed suit. The men jumped down one after another, even Zhang Liping, who had cimed to be squeamish at the sight of blood but hadn't fainted, shouted as he leaped down. The women had it even easier—just close their eyes and jump; there would be men waiting to catch them below.

  "Hurry, hurry! Don't block the way. Everyone, get down! That big guy's been eaten clean!" Zhang Xu hurriedly set down Liu Fei in his arms and pushed her toward the basement entrance. The blood had worked faster than they had anticipated—less than two minutes, and the zombie drenched in blood had already been torn apart and consumed by the horde. In another half minute, the zombies would likely notice their presence.

  "Huh? Something's wrong, Zhang Xu. Wait!" Gao Hai, who was helping his wife down, suddenly turned and shouted. He sprinted over to Zhang Xu, who was about to close the door, and cried out, "Don't close it! We're still one person short. Wang Peng hasn't come down yet!"

  "Wang Peng? Damn it! The cook?" Zhang Xu excimed in shock. Just as he was about to rush out to check, he saw several zombies already cwing their way toward them. Frowning, he shoved the iron door shut and hurriedly said, "We don't have time for him! We need to go now!"

  "No, Old Wang shared a lot of food with my wife back then. I can't forget that kindness!" Gao Hai insisted, grabbing the iron door. He turned to Zhang Xu, pleading, "Brother, just wait for me. I'll go out and check, then come right back!"

  Before he could finish, Gao Hai bolted out the door. Like a human beast, his burly frame and massive fists took down a zombie climbing onto the stove with a single, brutal punch.

  Gao Hai stepped onto the stove, ready to call out Wang Peng's name, but he froze in shock. There, standing on the edge of the second-floor gss curtain wall, was Wang Peng. His arms clung tightly to an iron pilr, his face pale and tense as he stared down at Gao Hai. His entire body trembled violently, his once-dark complexion now as white as paper.

  "Old Wang, what's wrong? Damn it, just jump down!" Gao Hai shouted urgently, turning to deliver a powerful high kick that sent another zombie flying. Turning back, he saw Wang Peng still clinging to the pilr, refusing to let go. "Jump! Quick, I'll catch you!"

  "No... I... I can't. You go. Don't worry about me!" Wang Peng clung to the pilr, his face pale and trembling as he shook his head at Gao Hai below. His cloudy eyes were filled with fear and despair.

  "Bullshit! Are you even a man? Weren't you always bragging about how tough you were with those waitresses? Why are you less brave than a little girl like Gao Yuanyuan now? Old Wang, don't be afraid. Just close your eyes and jump. I'm down here!" As more zombies surged forward, Gao Hai paced frantically, but no matter what he said, Wang Peng remained motionless. Eventually, he even closed his eyes and knelt down in fear.

  "Why are you wasting time on this coward? Do you want to die with your wife? Get in here!" Zhang Xu shouted, seeing the situation grow increasingly dire. More and more zombies were climbing onto the stainless steel stove, trying to leap over. Even Gao Hai's powerful fists were struggling to keep up, and he was already in danger several times over.

  "Sigh~" Gao Hai smashed another zombie in frustration, then looked up at Wang Peng, still kneeling on the second floor. Clenching his teeth, he turned and charged into the iron door.