Chapter 3: Things Are Not Going Well
Before I knew it, a morning had passed.
Han Shuo remained seated on the sofa. The ashtray beside the sofa was overflowing with cigarette butts, indicating that he had smoked countless cigarettes.
He spent the last half day thinking about a lot of things.
Consider the cause of the event: was it a natural disaster or man-made?
Considering the number of survivors, are there more living people or more zombies?
Consider the scope of the infection: is it limited to a small area within our own city, or is the situation similar all over the world?
...
After much thought, what I considered most was the habits of zombies.
Han Shuo was relieved that he hadn't made any noise when the female zombie knocked on the door. Otherwise, there was a high chance that he would have attracted the female zombie's attention, or even more zombies.
Now, Han Shuo knows he doesn't have much food left after these past few days. Besides half a bucket of water, he only has two bags of bread in the refrigerator.
If the door is blocked by zombies, that would undoubtedly be the worst-case scenario.
Thinking of this, Han Shuo quickly stood up from the sofa. He carefully and quietly walked to the door again.
Open the peephole and look outside.
"Thank goodness. There are no zombies outside."
Han Shuo sighed. The situation wasn't too bad yet; he would probably need to go out to find food in two or three days.
Han Shuo lives on the 6th floor, and there is only one way out from the door.
He picked up his phone and glanced at it; there was still no signal. During this time, Han Shuo also turned on his computer, and unsurprisingly, the entire network system was down.
Based on these details, Han Shuo had already guessed it.
"I've only been sleeping on and off for five days, so the disaster couldn't have happened in the last two days. It's impossible for the entire network to be paralyzed in just two days."
"There is a high probability that the disaster occurred on the very first day after I developed a fever."
As it turned out, no matter how much the various operators boasted at the time, when chaos ensued, the network system was left unmaintained. It completely collapsed in just five days.
...
In the afternoon, Han Shuo went through all the available items in the house.
Besides a small amount of food and water, he also found some common medicines. Then his gaze turned to the Tang sword he was most familiar with, hanging on the wall.
Han Shuo wasn't too nervous; for some reason, he felt a vague sense of excitement.
Perhaps it was the monotonous, mechanical lifestyle he had led for many years that made him feel bored, or perhaps it was this Tang sword that gave him a greater sense of security.
Han Shuo has been practicing swordsmanship since he was a child, and it has been more than 20 years now.
Even he himself couldn't explain why he liked it. Countless people had advised him that in a harmonious and stable society, being familiar with swords and other weapons was of no use.
Instead of wasting that energy, it would be better to achieve something substantial in your career.
Unexpectedly, what was once underestimated has now become Han Shuo's most important means of survival.
After working for a while, Han Shuo finally felt weak. Although his fever had completely subsided, his body's functions clearly still needed food to recover.
"Food is as essential as iron; you'll get hungry if you skip a meal."
After his appetite returned, Han Shuo quickly took out a bag of bread from the refrigerator and started eating.
He hadn't eaten properly for several days, and in a short while, he stuffed the last piece of bread into his mouth.
"Gulp, gulp."
He picked up the water glass and drank it all in one gulp. Han Shuo was feeling much better.
"It looks like the last bag of bread, even if we're very frugal, will only last us two days at most."
Instead of cleaning up the trash on the table, Han Shuo lit a cigarette, leaned back in his chair, and took a deep drag.
Although he is usually a fairly clean person, given the current situation, instead of spending time cleaning the house, he might as well make a good plan for the future.
"Given the quietness of the neighborhood and the number of infected zombies, most people are probably staying at home."
Han Shuo's analysis was correct, because at night, through the gap in the curtains, Han Shuo discovered that about four or five houses in the community had their lights on.
Han Shuo didn't turn on the lights, but only lifted a corner of the curtain. The room was only brightened by the faint moonlight.
There were some things he didn't know, while others might have gathered a lot of information before the network crashed. But Han Shuo didn't have those opportunities.
All he knows so far is that zombies are attracted by sounds, carry viruses, and if you are bitten by one, the virus will spread throughout your body in about 10 minutes, putting you into a state of suspended animation.
Han Shuo likes to call it a fake death, because in ten minutes, the person who faked their death will wake up again and assimilate into a new zombie.
...
Before they knew it, night had fallen. Most of the survivors in the neighborhood probably witnessed the man's tragic state that morning, and until now, no one dared to step out of their own homes.
"Forget it, let's go to sleep first. I'll observe for two more days, and then I'll have to figure out how to get some food."
After checking all the doors and windows again, making sure they were locked and closed, Han Shuo felt much more at ease. He took the Tang sword from the wall, carried it into the bedroom, and locked the door. He then drifted off to sleep.
I didn't sleep well that night.
...
The next day, Han Shuo woke up as usual. It was still quiet outside. He ate about a third of the bread from the bag. He wasn't full, but he didn't feel hungry either.
Walking to the window, Han Shuo decided to continue observing the situation outside.
Sure enough, not long after, two people cautiously walked out of the entrance of another building.
"A man and a woman, they should be a couple." Han Shuo judged that the two were a couple rather than a couple, because they both looked to be only around 20 years old.
Just like the man yesterday, they hid and observed for a while before running out of the residential area.
Judging from the direction the two were heading, it should be a small supermarket outside the residential area. Having hidden at home for five or six days, the two had run out of food.
They hadn't run far when, whether it was bad luck or something else, they were spotted by a zombie not far away.
Judging from the zombie's attire, it must have been a sanitation worker before.
In her panic, the woman actually tripped and fell flat on her face.
Han Shuo shook his head, knowing that the woman was doomed.
The zombies were not much slower than humans. Because the distance wasn't far, before the woman could get up again, the zombie pounced on her from behind and bit her neck.
"Ah!! Help me!"
The woman stretched out her hand and shouted at her boyfriend in front of her. The man looked back, then continued running outside in terror.
The zombies tore at the woman's flesh piece by piece.
"Help me! Help! Ah—!"
...
The woman's screams echoed through the neighborhood, shattering its tranquility. Han Shuo saw zombies gathering all around him.
One, two, three...
In less than half a minute, more than 20 zombies had appeared in Han Shuo's field of vision. The number was actually increasing.
Even outside the residential area, zombies kept pouring in.
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