Chapter Six: The Town (Part Two)
Xiao Ran's face reddened due to lack of oxygen as he desperately tried to pry the dirty hands of the zombie off his throat, but to no avail. The zombie's mouth, filled with yellow teeth, drew closer, with traces of flesh and blood visible between its teeth.
"No, I don't want to die," Xiao Ran shouted inwardly, feeling a strange energy swiftly forming within him and coursing through his body. It flowed from his hands to the zombie, accompanied by crackling sounds. Suddenly, the zombie's body began to tremble violently, its head erecting like a hedgehog's quills. In just a few seconds, it released Xiao Ran's hands and collapsed to the ground.
"How is this possible?" Xiao Ran exclaimed in astonishment. Before he could fully comprehend, the tranquility of the room was shattered. The partially open door was kicked open with a bang, and several figures appeared one after another. Men and women, their clothes stained with blood, hands smeared with gore, their faces pale and devoid of expression except for the greedy moans in their murky eyes and the eerie groans emanating from their throats. They gradually closed in on Xiao Ran.
"Unfortunate luck, indeed," Xiao Ran cursed silently, swiftly getting up from the ground and grabbing a steel pipe to shield himself. Faced with so many zombies, his prospects looked grim.
"Roar!" The male zombie at the forefront had already reached Xiao Ran. Without hesitation, Xiao Ran exerted all his strength, lifting the steel pipe and smashing it down on the zombie's head. With a loud thud, the zombie's hard skull was flattened by the force of Xiao Ran's blow, blood and brain matter mingling as it collapsed. As another female zombie lunged forward with a howl, Xiao Ran reacted swiftly, dodging to the side and delivering a powerful blow to its slender neck. A crisp sound of bones breaking echoed as the female zombie stumbled back several steps until it hit a table and collapsed, its elongated head drooping limply to the side.
Based on Xiao Ran's previous physical condition, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with zombies would have had only one outcome - death. Unexpectedly, today he displayed such bravery, effortlessly dispatching those terrifying zombies. Moreover, after this series of intense activities, he hadn't even broken a sweat. His breathing was steady, his heartbeat normal, as if he had endless energy. Xiao Ran sensed a change in his body; he never had this much strength, agility, or stamina before.
But time and circumstances didn't allow him to dwell on this. The zombies rushing in through the door were increasing, and no matter how brave he was, he couldn't carve a path through the horde like Zhao Yun. It seemed he was about to reach his limit.
"Hurry, come this way upstairs," a clear female voice came from the second floor. Xiao Ran was surprised. When he checked earlier, he had thought about going upstairs, but the narrow staircase connecting the first and second floors had been destroyed. He didn't expect there to be people hiding on the second floor.
Xiao Ran hurried to the staircase, but when he looked at the broken wall and exposed concrete and steel bars on the opposite side, he was stunned. About ** steps of the staircase were destroyed. Even a strong Olympic high jumper would find it difficult to leap over, let alone him, a simple homebody with no athletic abilities.
But the situation didn't allow for much thought. Dozens of zombies with gaping mouths, oozing black fluid, were closing in on Xiao Ran. They had been hungry for a long time, and the scent of fresh meat from a living human was irresistibly attractive to them.
"Damn it, jumping over means death, going back means death, I'll fight it out!" Glancing back at the approaching horde of zombies, Xiao Ran gritted his teeth. He crouched down, took a deep breath, then pushed off with all his strength, leaping out forcefully.
This leap far exceeded Xiao Ran's expectations. He didn't expect his jumping ability to be so good that he could jump so far and so high. However, he fell slightly short of the destination. When he was just a few centimeters away from the second floor, his momentum ran out, and his body began to fall downward due to inertia. In a critical moment, Xiao Ran reached out and grabbed the steel bar protruding from the second-floor staircase, barely preventing himself from falling.
"Could someone give me a hand?" Xiao Ran shouted desperately as his hand slid down the steel bar, barely holding on, while the zombies behind him had already reached his feet. One even managed to grab Xiao Ran's shoe.
What awaited Xiao Ran was the muzzle of a black pistol, held by a sturdy middle-aged man.
"Wait, don't shoot, I'm human, not a zombie!" Xiao Ran exerted all his strength to shout.
The man with the gun didn't move, his powerful weapon still aimed at Xiao Ran's head, his eyes filled with distrust.
"Turn your head aside," the strong man shouted loudly. Xiao Ran immediately complied with the man's instructions.
"Bang!" With a loud noise, smoke billowed from the muzzle, and a large hole appeared on the nearest zombie's head. Its body fell backward, followed by several more gunshots. The zombies, clawing and snarling, were knocked down one by one like bowling pins. But more zombies were still coming, gradually increasing in number. Two of them had even grabbed Xiao Ran's shoes.
"Grab my hand." A young woman's voice came over, and a slender and warm white hand reached out from above, pulling Xiao Ran with force. Xiao Ran also exerted all his strength to climb up. In the end, he escaped disaster and was pulled up to the top of the wall. Looking at his feet, one of his shoes had been pulled off by the zombies, and his pants were stained with the blood and brain matter of those zombies. It was truly a thrilling experience.
Xiao Ran broke out in a cold sweat, his heart beating faster. He sat on the ground, panting for a long time before gradually calming down, carefully surveying the surroundings. Standing at the staircase were a man and a woman. The man was in his early thirties, with dark skin, tall and strong, his facial features sharp and angular, giving him a rugged appearance. He held a police pistol aimed at Xiao Ran, his eyes filled with distrust.
The woman had a delicate melon-seed face, fair skin, with long black hair scattered over her shoulders. She had a tall figure, and a black tight-fitting windbreaker tightly wrapped around her enticing body, her eyes also staring at Xiao Ran warily.
"I'm Xiao Ran. I came to Z Province for tourism and got separated from my teammates. Passing by here, I was looking for something to eat. Thank you both for helping me. May I know how to address you?" Faced with his lifesavers, Xiao Ran quickly introduced himself.