Chapter 4

That night, a piercing scream suddenly echoed from the distance.

The three of us burst out of the room in an instant. Mark gripped the flashlight tightly, Alex held onto the crowbar, and I stared at the newly welded iron door, my breath catching in my throat.

No one dared to close their eyes all night.

The next day, the news anchor on television was still putting on a show: "Last night, sporadic violent incidents occurred in multiple locations; officials have confirmed that they were caused by hallucinations from a new type of synthetic drug..."

On the third day, cell phone signals began to be interrupted on a large scale.

The signal bars on the screen seemed to be counting down, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Mark stood by the window, pacing back and forth, his tie long since torn to shreds. He seemed to be contacting his family, yelling hoarsely into the phone, "Forget about those damn stocks and funds! Go buy water! Empty out all the supermarkets downstairs! Seal the doors and windows! Now!"

I also called my sister repeatedly—she is my only family.

Two weeks ago, we had the most intense argument we've ever had.

That day she excitedly told me she was pregnant, but all I could think about was my disgust for her jerk boyfriend.

I called that man a useless alcoholic and said that her pregnancy ruined her life. My sister finally couldn't hold back her tears and retorted that I couldn't even find a decent job, so what right did I have to look down on her and tell her what to do?

I was hit where it hurt, and in a fit of anger, I slammed the door and stormed out.

I dragged my suitcase and fled to this unfamiliar city to find work, never to return home.

From that day on, in my youthful arrogance, I unilaterally started a cold war and never called her even once.

I always thought there was plenty of time, and that it wouldn't be too late to go back and apologize to her after I found a decent job.

To this day, I can no longer get through to her on the phone.

I stared intently at the dimmed phone screen, feeling as if a shard of glass was stuck in my throat, impossible to swallow or spit out.

Intense regret gnawed at my heart like a venomous snake.

What if I hadn't slammed the door and left that day?

I stared intently at the dimmed phone screen, then silently put the phone back in my pocket.

Alex had no phone to make.

He glanced at me, walked over to the pile of rubble, picked up a hammer, and silently nailed another thick layer of wooden planks onto the window.

On the fifth day, the entire city was devoid of car horns, police sirens, and even bird calls.

I gently lifted a crack in the curtains, and the street had been transformed into a monster playground.

Five or six zombies were wandering aimlessly among the abandoned cars, leaving long trails of dark red blood on the asphalt road.

"Who's that?!" Alex suddenly exclaimed, pointing downstairs.

I immediately leaned closer, and my pupils suddenly contracted.

It was the pregnant woman I bumped into in the stairwell a few days ago.

Her face was deathly pale, and she clutched her swollen belly tightly with both hands as she sneaked out of the stairwell.

She wasn't carrying anything, not even a weapon for self-defense.

Clearly, they had run out of food at home and were driven to desperation.

But she had only taken a few steps when three zombies, having already caught the scent of fresh flesh and blood, were already walking towards her.

"Damn it!" Alex cursed as he rushed toward the door.

"Are you crazy?!" Mark pounced like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on, grabbing Alex by the back of his collar.

"She's pregnant! She's due in two months at most! You've saved her, but what will happen when she gives birth? Don't you know how sensitive zombies are to the smell of blood?! Do you want us all to die with her?!"

"You fucking want her dead in the street right now because of something that hasn't even happened yet?!" Alex roared, veins bulging, shoving Mark aside and grabbing his collar. "Children are the future! They are hope! If in this damned world we can't even save a pregnant woman with nowhere else to turn, what kind of people are we?!"

"Don't give me that bullshit hope!" Mark roared without backing down, slamming his fist against the wall. "Living is living! This is the apocalypse, so put away your ridiculous sympathy!"

The pregnant woman tripped over a fire hydrant while running around a street corner and fell to the ground.

The three zombies were less than 20 meters away from her!

As I looked at the pregnant woman lying on the ground, desperately protecting her belly and shrinking back, my mind went completely blank.

I don't know where my sister is hiding in despair right now, or if she's already...

But I know that if she were to fall like that on a street full of monsters, I would wish that even a stranger would lend her a helping hand.

I grabbed the iron bar beside me, flung open the security door, and rushed out.

Alex paused for half a second, then violently shoved Mark aside, gripped his weapon tightly, and charged out after him.

“You two are insane! Die!” Mark cursed desperately and angrily behind us.

He didn't come out, but stood inside the door, slamming it shut with only a crack, and stared intently at the movements outside.

Alex and I charged straight into the street like two cheetahs in a frenzy.

The zombies had surrounded the pregnant woman, and the closest one was almost pouncing on her! They were less than ten steps away!

"Get out of my way!" I roared, using the momentum of my charge to swing the iron bar in my hand and smash it hard into the temple of the nearest zombie.

With a sickening cracking sound, half of the zombie's head caved in, and I swung it to the ground.

"Get up!" Alex seized the opportunity to rush over, grabbed the pregnant woman's arm, and forcefully lifted her off the ground.

The pregnant woman was completely exhausted, her legs were weak, and she was practically hanging on Alex as he half-dragged and half-carried her back.

"Go in quickly! Don't look back!" I gripped the iron rod tightly with both hands, staring intently at the remaining two zombies, swinging it as I retreated step by step to cover their retreat.

Ten meters. Five meters. Three meters.

The apartment door was just a stone's throw away, and I could already see Mark's anxious eyes peeking through the crack in the door.

Just as Alex was about to drag the pregnant woman through the door, something unexpected happened!

The largest zombie was incredibly powerful. It suddenly accelerated and darted out from the side blind spot, roaring like a mad beast as it pounced on Alex's unsuspecting back and the pregnant woman!

If they were hit, Alex and the pregnant woman would definitely die!

The distance was too close, and its attack speed was extremely fast. I had only swung the iron rod halfway out of my hand when I didn't have time to retract it and block!

"Hold!"

Without the slightest hesitation, I recklessly rammed my shoulder into the giant zombie!

Bang!

The enormous reaction force made my vision blur and my internal organs churn violently.

I forcefully deflected the zombie's charge, and I instantly lost my balance, crashing heavily onto the rough asphalt road along with the extremely disgusting and putrid monster.

“Sion!” Alex roared.

But he didn't stop. He gritted his teeth and dragged the pregnant woman into the apartment building.

I tried to roll over and get up, but that heavy, cold, and incredibly strong body had already pinned me to the ground.

The zombie's murky, dark red eyes stared intently at me, and thick, bloody saliva dripped onto my cheek.

It suddenly opened its blood-red maw, covered in bits of flesh, aimed at my face, and bit down hard!