This bold idea popped into Stel's mind.
However, Stel quickly dismissed the thought.
The basement door was open.
If there were indeed survivors, unless they were foolish, they would have tightly closed the basement door.
Instead of wandering around with some sort of light.
Nevertheless, Stel had to go up and see for himself.
So he quickened his pace, walking more boldly even in the darkness.
No longer as cautious as before.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Stel's footsteps occasionally quickened and sometimes slowed.
Even though it was only a few dozen meters, it felt like a long distance.
Finally, he found himself near the light source.
Just as he was about to take a couple more steps to see.
Suddenly, a pockmarked face appeared in front of him.
A zombie!
Damn!
Stel hurriedly took a big step back.
In the process, he didn't notice the ground behind him was uneven.
"Bang!"
He fell solidly to the ground.
Fortunately, the fall wasn't too severe, and Stel managed to stand up with some difficulty.
"Damn it! Who the hell built this road? It's so uneven!"
With anger, Stel stood up, habitually dusting off his clothes.
Then he reached out his hand, probing in the direction of the zombie.
He touched the zombie's body.
Stel didn't know exactly what part of the zombie he had touched.
It felt somewhat sticky.
He then moved his hands, sliding up the zombie's body.
He touched the light source.
It was a hard cylindrical object.
Stel grabbed it and gave it a strong pull.
The zombie didn't react at all.
Stel looked at what he had in his hand. It turned out to be a flashlight.
But the brightness was set to night mode, giving off very little light.
So only the reflective material was flickering.
Someone who didn't know might have thought it was haunted!
Stel increased the brightness and pressed the flashlight switch.
"Click!"
As the switch flipped, a powerful beam of light shot out from the flashlight.
The surroundings instantly became bright.
Stel was overjoyed.
In such a dim basement, having such a tool was a godsend.
"Good zombie, you brought me equipment."
Stel smiled slightly.
He then pointed the flashlight at the zombie.
The smile on his face froze instantly.
"Damn it..."
Stel realized that the zombie in front of him was wearing a utility worker's uniform, probably the apartment's maintenance worker.
The important thing wasn't the worker's identity.
It was the worker's appearance.
The utility worker zombie had a large hole in its stomach.
Undoubtedly, the first part Stel had touched was that stomach hole.
"Drip!"
The sticky substance on Stel's hand formed a droplet and fell to the ground.
"This is just... ugh!!!"
Stel quickly tucked the flashlight under his arm and wiped the sticky substance from his hand onto the zombie's clothes.
He only stopped when his hand felt less sticky.
He also wiped the flashlight clean on the zombie's clothes.
After that, Stel felt safe holding the flashlight again.
He continued searching for the water valve.
"Since the apartment's utility worker is nearby, it means the water valve is probably close."
Stel held the flashlight, adjusting the brightness to a suitable level.
In the dim basement, even a little light was very noticeable.
Especially the strong beam from the flashlight.
"Swish!"
The moment the switch was pressed, the path ahead became much brighter.
But Stel would have been better off not seeing what he did.
He was stunned by the sight before him.
Both walls of the basement were lined with countless zombies.
All the zombies had their heads pressed against the walls.
It looked like a bizarre ritual by a strange cult.
The moment Stel turned on the light, the zombies stopped their behavior.
"Swish!"
All the zombies turned simultaneously towards the source of the light.
Their eyes were like colorless beads.
A vast expanse of white.
With a few blood streaks around.
"Hissssss—!"
The zombies' mouths opened in unison, emitting a low growl.
Stel was scared out of his wits, feeling the gaze of so many eyes, thinking his ability had vanished and these zombies were about to attack him.
But after a few seconds, the zombies turned back, pressing their heads against the walls.
"Phew—!"
A false alarm.
Stel guessed that these zombies had been in the dark basement for so long.
They were used to such an environment.
The sudden appearance of a bright light.
Triggered a reflex, like a knee-jerk reaction.
The zombies would react to the light.
After adjusting to it, they would turn back around.
Ignoring the zombies, Stel continued to search for the main water valve with his flashlight.
A few minutes later, he wandered around the vast basement like navigating a maze.
Finally, he found the main water valve.
"This is it!"
Seeing a sign next to the valve with a faucet symbol.
Stel reached out, trying to open the outer cover.
It was locked?
Even using all his strength, he couldn't open the cover.
Thinking for a moment, he picked up a large rock from nearby.
He aimed at the lock and smashed it.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The basement's echo was excellent, the sound reverberating through the dark corridors.
If it were an ordinary person doing this, they would have attracted zombies long ago.
But Stel, knowing he wouldn't be attacked by zombies, acted with impunity!
Recklessly!
"Thunk!"
After smashing for more than ten times, the lock was broken.
Stel reached out to open it.
But...
Why still couldn't he open it?
He pulled with all his might, but to no avail.
Illuminating the cover with the flashlight, Stel thought for a moment.
Then he grabbed the handle of the cover.
He gently pulled to the right.
The iron cover slid open.
Revealing the water valves for each household inside.
"Designer, I hope you turn into a zombie soon!"
Stel shouted in frustration.
Who on earth was so brainless to design the iron cover as a sliding mechanism!
But at least he had found the water valves.
Stel shone the flashlight around.
Finally, he found the spot for Room 201, with a blue valve underneath, likely the water valve for Bobby's apartment.
"This is it!"
After finding it, Stel grabbed the valve tightly.
With a sharp pull.
Swish!
The valve was pulled down by Stel, which meant that the water supply to Bobby's apartment was now cut off.
"Let's see how long you can hold out now that I've cut your water supply."
Stel chuckled to himself.
Since Bobby had decided to hole up in his room, determined to stay put,
He would use this tactic to force him out.
Although Bobby still had some supplies,
All the water he drank came from the tap!