The stench of decaying corpses permeated the air, combining with the gore of the slain zombie, everyone except for Lin Wei and the bald man doubled over in retching.
Tang Zheng felt spasms in his stomach, the pain almost cramp-like. Large mouthfuls of sour liquid uncontrollably surged up his esophagus, threatening to spill out every time he opened his mouth.
Lin Wei crouched down, using his gun to prod at the zombie corpses. Although their clothes were disheveled, their skin was a pallid grey. Desperate scratches had left mottled bloodstains, and their fingernails were caked with bloody flesh. Although their muscles seemed to have slightly withered, it was still too early to judge if their strength had diminished.
"The rate of zombification is so fast," the high school student adaptability was commendable. After vomiting, he felt much better and could even muster the strength to take a good look at the corpses.
"We should quickly find a room and hide," Kang Songde wiped his mouth. He wanted to leave earlier but had no weapons for self-defense and dared not act alone. At this point, he didn't care about his reputation and directly suggested.
"Let's go. Aren't you afraid of seeing enough in the next 15 days?" The bald man seemed completely indifferent to the shock his words precipitated. "You'd better get used to this killing, otherwise you're sure to die. The zombies won't take a timeout because you're retching to stop their attack."
Even though everyone knew this was the reality, their faces turned deathly pale, especially when they saw three zombies dressed in hotel uniforms roaming the corridor. Their legs began trembling, nearly giving out beneath them.
"Don't shoot, everyone inside," Thankfully, room 1207 wasn't at the end of the corridor. Otherwise, Tang Zheng would have been really annoyed. He hurriedly opened the door. Without needing his prompting, Kang Songde was the first to rush in. Dismayingly, apart from the two air hostesses whose legs were shaking, everyone else also moved quickly.
The unexpected running noise startled the three zombies about fifty meters away. After they turned around, they began moving towards them at a slightly faster pace than normal walking.
Lin Wei didn't want to waste bullets, so he didn't shoot. As such, he remained vigilant, kneeling on one knee. He took aim at the zombies and whispered to Tang Zheng, "Go and help the last two air hostesses."
Because of that sentence, Tang Zheng's impression of Lin Wei changed drastically. Qin Yan ran a few steps, found that two of her colleagues couldn't keep up, and were panting heavily leaning against the wall, so she turned back to get them.
"Xiao Qin, Xiao Guo, hold on," Qin Yan helped up the air hostess, Pang Meiqin, and put her arm around her own shoulder while saying, "It's only a few more steps, Xiao Guo. When we get back, I'll give you a LV handbag."
"Come to help us," Qin Yan, in frustration, yelled. How could these people only care about themselves? Others might not be very familiar, but Captain Zhao Jingye was their mutual acquaintance. At that moment, her disappointment in Captain Zhao was so great; unconsciously, her favorability toward Tang Zheng increased.
"Stop yelling, do you want to attract more zombies!" Tang Zheng lowered his voice, rushed past Qin Yan to the air hostess Bai Guo. After asking her to hold on to the metal box, he carried her on his back, not caring whether the travel bag would suffocate her.
Finally, the door to the room closed. Everyone took a deep breath of relief. However, before their hearts could settle, they were startled again, as the door was being banged from outside.
"Well, the zombies are blocking the door," the bold bald man glanced through the peephole in a huff. Initially, he planned on killing the zombies through the wooden door, but considering they only had a pathetic three clips of ammunition, he repressed his aggressive impulse.
Everyone's faces were ghastly pale. No one spoke, and the room fell silent. Qin Yan sat with Pang Meiqin and Bai Guo, soothing them quietly. She wanted to confront Zhao Jingye, but thought better of it considering the timing. The other hostesses looked sheepish. They felt embarrassed for running away without helping them.
Bai Guo, however, was more preoccupied with the guilt of feeling like she constantly held the group back. Pang Meiqin gave Cheng Chen a reproachful look and did not utter a word.
Cheng Chen swiftly glanced around, not daring to meet Pang Meiqin's gaze. She knew that her decision to run away had greatly upset her friend.
"Flight attendants have cliques, haha. That can be useful... oh lord!" Kang Songde, feeling relieved, couldn't help but stare at Bai Guo. This recently-turned nineteen-year-old girl exuded an air of innocence, which was to his liking.
Admittedly, Kang had an eye for detail. Among the ten air hostesses, Bai Guo stood out, second only to the mature Qin Yan. If this were an ordinary time, he would undoubtedly try to get her in bed.
"Old Lin, look how seductive those flight attendants are! It's been 12 years and I haven't smelled a woman," bald man said with a hungry, wolfish gaze focused on the shape of the flight attendants' legs, covered in flesh-colored stockings, his lust was beyond description.
"Xu Dong, don't eye those flight attendants like that. You might have your fun, but it would ruin their lives," Old Lin, restraining himself, finally advised him.
"Ha! After spending five bitter years in prison, have you still not seen the world? Or have you become so submissive after serving someone else's sentence for five years?", said bald man Wu Xudong, glancing at Old Lin oddly. "I always thought the first thing you'd do after escaping prison would be to seek revenge."
"That's what I had in mind," Lin Weiguo clenched his fist then let out a sigh, "But I've put that away now; I just want to return home, to see my wife and kids, wonder how they've been."
"Ha! The once-elitist southwest hawk has fallen down so low. People would laugh their heads off if they came to know," the bald man slapped Lin Weiguo's shoulders and said, "Buddy, what can I say about you? Nevermind, just for your sake, I won't meddle with those women."
Wu Xudong knew exactly how strong Old Lin was. This guy could knock out more than 20 prison inmates who provoked him, barehanded, without sweating at all. Moreover, in such an environment, he had to rely on him, so he dared not offend him and lose face.
"Thank you." Lin Weiguo replied, then he curled up on the sofa with his gun and closed his eyes to rest.
Wu Xu Dong sighed deeply, he found it odd when he heard he thanked him for a bunch of unrelated flight attendants. Lin Weiguo was good-old-hearted, it's a shame that the flight attendants could not appreciate him.
At this point, alliances in the room were becoming apparent. Among the 16 people, three groups formed. Four flight attendants huddled around Zhao Jingye with flattered smiles and began sweet-talking him. They were putting all their bets on Captain Zhao.
The remaining six flight attendants gathered around Qin Yan with fiery-tempered Hu Qiong completely disdainful of her colleagues' lowly behavior as she rolled her eyes at them.
Kang Songde, feigning authority, joined Zhao Jingye's circle and that gave the schoolboy some confidence. hesitatingly, he started walking towards Qin Yan but was scared off by a stern look from Hu Qiong, so he involuntarily turned towards Zhao Jingye instead.
"Come sit here." Qin Yan subtly shook her head at Hu Qiong, then called for the schoolboy to come sit with her, not forgetting the maintenance worker.
Relieved, the school kid happily joined them. Same with the maintenance worker, at least he wasn't isolated now.
"Kid, come here and chat." Noticing no one invited Tang Zheng, Lin Weiguo laughed. He clearly understood the situation. Zhao Jingye was wary of this kid, he wouldn't invite him. Qin Yan had intentions to recruit him but was afraid of losing her lead in the team. After all, Tang Zheng had shown brilliance in choosing equipment and his performance during the past twenty minutes was commendable. Moreover, letting an unfamiliar man decide one's fate is hard for any woman.
" Let's set this straight, in a few days if the flight attendants voluntarily offer themselves, I get dibs on the long-legged busty one, you don't get to compete," Tang Zheng heard the bald man blurt out the moment he sat down, nearly causing him to choke.
"Look at you kid, not so foolish, eh? No need for me to explain, right?" Wu Xu Dong looked at Tang Zheng's puzzled eyes and scoffed "With fifteen days ahead of us, we're clueless about food and water. Plus, with zombies around who's going to go out for supplies? Elite Zhao Jingye? or will it be the honest repairman? Or maybe the lascivious old man? Frankly, I don't rate them; they would chicken out in any real situation. The flight attendants might hold up for a few days, but what happens when they get really hungry? They will come begging to us naturally. With no money, they can only barter with their bodies. Haha! We might even get a threesome!"
Tang Zheng had to admit that the guy was being very realistic, yet he would never use food to coerce them.
.......
PS: Second part is finished, there will be a third part tonight.