There were actually survivors in the apartment across the street! The fact that someone survived the zombie crisis wasn't particularly surprising to Stel. But the fact that people were still alive after half a month was unexpected. After all, Stel and Elsie had been living there for over two weeks. Stel had prepared emergency food in advance, which helped them survive for so long. But what about the others?
During this time, Stel had witnessed many people recklessly going out without food and ending up as zombie meals.
"So there are survivors in the apartment across the street..." Stel paused what he was doing and went to the balcony, looking in the direction of the light.
Elsie was confused. Why did her master suddenly stop?
"Master...?"
"Shut up. There are survivors in the apartment across from us," Stel said coldly. He followed the beam of light with his eyes and finally pinpointed its source on the eighth floor of the opposite building.
"The eighth floor, practically no chance of escape," he muttered. The eighth floor was right in the middle of the building. To reach the roof, they'd have to climb eight flights of stairs. To get to the ground floor, they'd need to descend the same distance. The building was teeming with countless zombies. Whether they tried to go up or down, the outcome would be the same—death.
"Master, are there really survivors over there?" Elsie asked excitedly. She tried to get up but realized her hands were still cuffed to the bed, making it impossible to stand.
"There are survivors. I wonder how they've managed to hold out this long..." Stel said, pondering the situation.
That night, Stel tried to make contact with the people across the street. However, without a flashlight or similar device and with the darkness being so deep, nothing was visible except for the reflection on the glass. So, Stel gave up and decided to try again during the day.
The next day, Stel went to the balcony and held up a white bedsheet with both hands.
"Are you a survivor?" was written on the bedsheet.
"If you are a survivor, throw something down to the ground."
Stel wasn't sure if the other person could see the message on the bedsheet, so he hung it up and went back inside to continue his workout.
"Master, do you think they can see our message?" Elsie asked.
"They should be able to. They have a better view from their side," Stel confirmed. Last night's light wasn't a coincidence, Stel was sure of that. However, he couldn't understand how the other person had managed to survive for more than two weeks without any preparation.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, there was a crashing sound from outside the window, like a flower pot falling. Stel quickly went to the balcony to check the source of the noise. A fresh flower pot had just hit a zombie on the head, shattering on impact.
Stel was convinced that the person had seen his message and had thrown the flower pot from their balcony.
"It seems they really are survivors, not just a coincidence." Stel looked up and indeed saw a white bedsheet hanging from a balcony on the eighth floor. It read:
"Hello, I am a survivor. I have no more food. Please help me."
As expected, the person had run out of food. If they weren't desperate, a smart person wouldn't risk trying to contact other survivors.
"Out of food, huh? Too bad, we don't have enough supplies to share with a third person," Stel muttered.
Just as Stel was about to write a refusal message on the bedsheet, the door of the balcony across suddenly opened. Though the distance between the buildings was great, they could still make out each other's figures. Stel quickly realized the person was a woman with an impressive figure. It appeared she had just taken a bath, as she was wrapped in a towel.
"What is she trying to do?" Stel wondered. The woman also saw Stel. In the next second, she did something beyond Stel's imagination. She completely removed her towel, revealing herself entirely to Stel. Stel could now confirm that she wasn't wearing anything.
"You whore..." Elsie, kneeling on the balcony, saw the woman's actions and her eyes flared with anger.
After shedding her towel, the woman turned around in place, showcasing her body. She then picked up a pen and wrote a message on a bedsheet:
"Please let me come over. I am yours to enjoy."
There was no doubt; the woman intended to trade herself for food.
"The apocalypse truly drives people mad. This woman isn't stupid. She knows that to get food, she must pay a corresponding price," Stel remarked with a smile. For the past half month, Elsie had been his only slave. Just as a child can get tired of playing with the same toy, Stel was somewhat intrigued by the woman's proposition.
Moreover, the woman's figure and skin were quite appealing. Taking her in as a slave seemed like a good option. Keeping her around could also serve as a useful shield in critical moments.
Just like how Elsie and Tyler used me as a scapegoat in the past life.
"Master, are we really going to accept her?" Elsie asked.
"Hmm... find a way to get her over here. Once she's here, your food will be halved and given to her."
What?!
Elsie gritted her teeth in frustration. She already felt that she wasn't getting enough food, and now she'd have to give half of it to this woman! But she didn't dare disobey Stel's orders.
Over the next few days, Stel communicated with the woman using the bedsheet. The only way to move between the two buildings was to set up a rope and have the woman slide over.
"First, we need to find a rope that's at least a few dozen meters long and throw it over here."
By some stroke of luck, the woman did have such a long rope. Once she found the rope, Stel instructed her to tie a heavy object to one end and swing it to throw the rope over to his side. They only needed one successful attempt to get the rope to Stel. Both sides would then tie the rope to their balconies, allowing her to slide over from the eighth floor.
For the next three days, the woman kept trying to throw the rope to Stel. However, her aim was terrible—she either hit zombies or landed it on a neighboring balcony. Fortunately, her room was on the eighth floor, and the zombies couldn't climb up to her.
"Thud!"
After three days of trying, the woman finally succeeded in throwing the rope onto Stel's balcony.
"She finally got it over..." Stel picked up the rope and secured it to his balcony, preparing to start the transfer.
At that moment, Elsie, who was kneeling on the floor and fiddling with her phone, suddenly shouted, "Master, there's something wrong with this woman!"
"What?"