Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Extra – The Door to Post-Apocalyptic Rebirth – Full Book Online

Chapter 209: Extra

2024.

It has been nearly four years since the apocalypse broke out.

The state of the world doesn’t seem to have improved much.

Apart from some large bases that have accumulated substantial power, small survivor gathering places are not easy to survive in. The high cost of entering large bases often deters people.

If you can’t regularly pay crystal cores, you’ll be kicked out.

Obtaining supplies is becoming increasingly difficult.

The number of evolved and mutated zombies is growing, making the world more dangerous.

In the suburbs of L City, in a storage room on the third floor of a small office building, thirteen survivors are trapped.

Supplies are running low, and replenishment crystal cores are insufficient. They sent out a team of twenty to see if they could find anything.

At first, things went smoothly, and they even got lucky by finding a small store that hadn’t been completely looted, securing enough supplies to last them two more months.

But not long after leaving, they ran into two mutated zombies. As they fled, more zombies appeared. Seven of the twenty died, and now the remaining thirteen are holed up in this storage room. After barricading the door with everything they could find, they collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

Lu Jiazhi is the leader of this group. At its peak, the group had over three hundred people, but now only forty remain. Today, they don’t know if they’ll make it out alive. The door keeps getting hit, their replenishment crystal cores are all used up, their special abilities are exhausted, and it seems they’ve reached the end.

Looking at the others, everyone is slumped on the floor, utterly spent.

Four years into the apocalypse, he hasn’t slept a peaceful night or had a decent meal. Thinking about it, if he were to die now, it wouldn’t feel like much of a loss.

He pulls out his last cigarette and gestures to the young woman: “Zhong Yan, light it up.”

Zhong Yan hesitates, then extends her finger, and a small flame appears at her fingertip.

Lu Jiazhi leans over to light the cigarette, takes a deep drag, and leans against the wall, savoring the moment. In the haze of smoke, he suddenly remembers someone. Over two years ago, the person he selfishly abandoned. He can still vividly recall those eyes, filled with despair and disbelief… For the past three years, he’s dreamed of that scene repeatedly, each time wanting to save her but unable to move. Regret? More than regret… He takes another drag, and the smoke fills the air again. Those despairing eyes suddenly turn cold, devoid of any emotion, just staring at him indifferently, without hatred, calm yet icy.

Is she still alive? He remembers she had some impressive skills, her companions trusted her, and there was that man…

“Captain, give me a puff,” the man holding the door calls out, snapping Lu Jiazhi back to reality.

Lu Jiazhi chuckles self-deprecatingly and hands over the cigarette. The man takes a deep drag, exhales slowly, and with a mouthful of yellow teeth that haven’t been brushed in who knows how long, he smiles and says, “That’s strong.”

If Gu Ning were here, she’d recognize this man as Wang Feng, Brother Wang from the Dutch town.

Lu Jiazhi doesn’t mind, takes a few more puffs, and his stiff body gradually relaxes. At times like these, cigarettes are as precious as gold. This is his last one; after this, it’s time to go. He’s given up hope of escaping.

The others share similar thoughts. It’s not that they don’t want to live, but with no hope left, they’ve accepted their fate.

Everyone has struggled to survive for over three years in this apocalypse; no one has had it easy.

Listening to the mutated zombies banging on the door, the fridge and sofa blocking it are being pushed inch by inch.

“If the zombies break in, I’m a coward, so please let me go first,” a man on the floor suddenly says with a bitter smile. Before the apocalypse, he was a 300-pound man, but three years in, all that fat has been burned away.

It’s an unwritten rule now. When faced with certain death, no one wants to be bitten to death by zombies. Better to end it quickly and spare the suffering.

The cigarette burns down to the filter, burning Lu Jiazhi’s fingers. He stubs it out and says calmly, “I’m the captain; I’ll cover the rear.”

The others look at him with gratitude. Being the last one takes the most courage, having to kill your companions and then yourself.

“Then I’ll be second to last. You can’t handle everyone alone,” Wang Feng says.

The room falls silent again, only the sound of zombies banging on the door persists.

“Are we really not going to make it?” Finally, the only underage girl in the group, sixteen years old, sobs.

Wang Feng sneers, “Unless divine intervention.”

There are at least a dozen high-level mutated zombies outside. It’s rare to find a team of powerful ability users these days, and even if there were, they wouldn’t risk their lives to save strangers. The crystal cores of mutated zombies aren’t easy to obtain.

The door is forced open a crack, and a mutated zombie’s arm squeezes through, clawing desperately to get in. Lu Jiazhi stands up, picks up a chipped knife, and walks over. With a forceful swing, he chops off the arm. The severed arm falls to the ground, and a foul stench fills the air. The zombie, now missing an arm, roars and becomes even more frenzied, banging harder on the door.

Lu Jiazhi sits back down with the knife. Even though he’s accepted his fate, living a little longer is still better.

As the zombies roar and the door is forced open further, Lu Jiazhi suddenly asks, “Who’s first?”

The room is silent; no one speaks.

Clearly, no one wants to be the last, but no one wants to be the first either.

Lu Jiazhi looks around the room. Most people avoid his gaze. He sighs inwardly. Then a man speaks up, “I’ll go first.”

You can almost feel the relief in the room.

“Brother Lu, aim for my neck. Make sure it’s just one cut. Don’t mess it up, or I’ll suffer,” the man says with a forced laugh, though it looks more like a grimace.

Lu Jiazhi stands up with the knife.

“Wait, let me get comfortable,” the man says, lying down on the floor. Lu Jiazhi raises the knife, but the man suddenly stops him, “Wait!” He rolls over, face down, and says, “Looking at that knife scares me too much.”

“Ready?” Lu Jiazhi asks.

“Wait!” The man suddenly speaks again, trembling, “Brother Lu, do you have any bullets left? Maybe just shoot me. I’m really scared of the knife.”

“We ran out of bullets long ago,” Lu Jiazhi says.

“Either way, it’s just death. Bullet or knife, what’s the difference?” Wang Feng says impatiently.

The man forces a smile worse than crying and slowly turns his head back, “You’re right. It’s just death.”

Lu Jiazhi raises the knife for the third time—

“Wait!” The man suddenly sits up, his face filled with shock, “Did you hear gunshots?”

The others look at him with a mix of pity and sorrow. Lu Jiazhi frowns and glances at the door. The zombie is halfway in.

“I’m serious!” The man sits up, holding his breath, “Listen!”

Seeing his expression, everyone’s hearts race. They hold their breath and listen.

Gradually, the sound of gunfire becomes clear, one after another. Their eyes widen in disbelief, followed by a surge of joy. The previously exhausted and despondent people all stand up.

The gunfire is intense and clearly getting closer, accompanied by voices and the sounds of special ability attacks.

Lu Jiazhi quickly moves to the wall where the sound is coming from and listens closely.

A relaxed voice shouts loudly:

“Brothers and sisters, one more job, and we can head back to the base! Block those last few big ones; don’t let them escape!”

Then comes a chorus of responses.

The voice seems to come from downstairs, but it’s unmistakably real, not a hallucination born of despair.

Lu Jiazhi feels a surge of energy, fearing they might miss this place. He climbs onto a pile of debris and shouts out the small window, “Help! There are people trapped here!”

“Brother Xia, there are people up there!” a little girl’s clear voice rings out.

“Team Three, attention! Survivors in the third-floor room on the far right. Go up and help them!”

“Roger that!”

“People upstairs, hold on! We’re coming to get you!”

Hearing the response, Lu Jiazhi feels a sense of relief.

“Captain, hurry! We can’t hold it much longer!” someone shouts to Lu Jiazhi.

Lu Jiazhi turns and sees the mutated zombie halfway through the door, with another one squeezing its head in from above. Everyone is using all their strength to block the door, keeping the zombie stuck. Their faces are red with effort, struggling to hold it back.

Lu Jiazhi jumps down from the debris pile, grabs the knife, and charges at the zombie, hacking away. The zombie howls but refuses to back down, even pushing further in. Its tail whips around, stabbing wildly at Lu Jiazhi, who dodges left and right, avoiding the sharp spikes.

Just as he raises the knife to strike, the zombie suddenly grabs the blade. Lu Jiazhi is shocked, trying to pull it free with all his might but failing. A tremendous force yanks the knife, and Lu Jiazhi is flung across the room, crashing into a pile of debris. The clatter of falling objects echoes as Lu Jiazhi curls up in pain, every part of his body aching.

Seeing Lu Jiazhi thrown, the others are stunned. Then, with a loud crash, something slams into the door. The force sends everyone flying, and in that moment, a mutated zombie bursts into the room.

It pauses briefly before lunging at the group.

The storage room is narrow, filled with debris and crammed with over a dozen people. There’s nowhere to run.

The zombie pounces on the youngest girl in the group, biting down without hesitation. Her scream is cut short as the zombie’s jaws envelop her head. With a sickening crunch, the zombie rips her head off, blood spraying everywhere, drenching the others.

The sound of the zombie chewing on the girl’s skull is horrifying, the crunching of bone making everyone’s skin crawl.

As the zombie chews, its gray-yellow eyes scan the room. Suddenly, it spits out bits of bone.

Lu Jiazhi fights the urge to vomit. While the zombie is distracted, he grabs the knife that was knocked away and grips it tightly.

By the time he gets the knife, the zombie has already killed another person.

The moment Lu Jiazhi picks up the knife, the zombie turns, its cloudy eyes locking onto him. Lu Jiazhi freezes, but before he can react, the zombie lunges at him. With debris blocking his retreat, Lu Jiazhi has no choice but to meet the attack head-on. He raises a shield of earth, feeling his special ability drain completely. He barely has time to regret it as he raises the shield to block the zombie. The impact is tremendous, and with a loud crash, Lu Jiazhi is pinned under the zombie, his back against the debris. The knife falls from his hand as he struggles to hold the shield between him and the zombie. The zombie’s foul-smelling maw inches closer, and Lu Jiazhi tilts his head back, trying to avoid it. His strength is fading fast.

He can’t hold on much longer.

With a desperate cry, Lu Jiazhi feels the shield press against his chest, the stench overwhelming him. It’s over.

Suddenly, the weight on him lifts, and a young man’s voice asks, “Are you hurt?”

Lu Jiazhi turns in surprise to see a young man with a buzz cut and a cool demeanor. Besides him, three other men in similar uniforms are in the room. One is extracting a crystal core from the zombie’s skull, and Lu Jiazhi winces at the sight.

The young man notices the wound on Lu Jiazhi’s arm and frowns, speaking into his earpiece, “Third floor, two infected with the mutated virus.”

Lu Jiazhi looks down and sees a ten-centimeter gash on his left arm, likely from the zombie’s sharp claws. He glances over and sees Wang Feng lying on the floor, a blackened wound on his neck, his face filled with bitterness. What a twist of fate—finally rescued, but still not making it out alive.

He’s heard that the Capital’s base has developed an antidote for the mutated virus. But this isn’t the Capital; even getting a dose of the first-level antidote is nearly impossible here.

Lu Jiazhi’s face turns pale, a mix of despair and resolve in his eyes. “Brother, please, cut off my arm.” He clings to a sliver of hope that the virus hasn’t spread yet. Unlike Wang Feng, whose wound is fatal.

To his surprise, the young man laughs. Lu Jiazhi, frantic, finds the reaction strange. The young man smiles and says, “You’re lucky you ran into us.”

Before Lu Jiazhi can ask what he means, a clear female voice comes from the doorway, “Where are the injured survivors?”

The young man points to Lu Jiazhi and Wang Feng, “Just these two.”

A girl around sixteen or seventeen, with a small ponytail and wearing the same uniform, enters. She sets down a small case, quickly pulls out a syringe and a blue vial, and heads to Wang Feng first. She injects the serum into his neck without hesitation. Wang Feng, numb from the shock, asks, “What are you giving me?”

The girl replies coldly, “Something to save your life.” After administering the dose, she moves to Lu Jiazhi.

Her technique is precise and efficient, her hands steady.

“Is that the antidote for the mutated virus?” Lu Jiazhi can’t help but ask.

“Yes,” the girl replies casually.

The young man grins, showing a row of white teeth, “Suisui, your injection skills are getting better.”

“Practice makes perfect,” the girl says, her expression softening as she talks to him, a hint of pride in her voice.

“When we get back to the base, you should be able to settle in the hospital, right?”

“Not sure. Competition’s tough,” the girl says, then adds with a raised eyebrow, “But I like this life now.”

“Come on, we’ll be at the base for at least three months this time. It won’t be the same without you,” the young man says anxiously. “Our captain this time is the brother-in-law of Director Liu from the hospital. He’s a good guy. I can put in a good word for you.”

“Stop it. Isn’t that embarrassing?” the girl says, her face filled with admiration. “Director Liu is my idol. I want to be like her. This is the perfect time to gain experience. Don’t mess it up.”

The young man nods, impressed. “But Director Liu is only a year or two older than you, and she’s already the hospital director. Her sister is the head of the women’s corps. Impressive.”

“Of course,” the girl says, packing up her kit. “Director Liu was personally trained by Dean Gao.” She picks up the kit and says, “I’m off. Take them to the truck to bandage their wounds.” With that, she leaves briskly.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the truck to get your wounds bandaged,” the young man says to Lu Jiazhi. “Can you stand?”

Lu Jiazhi nods, his mind still processing the conversation between the young man and the girl. He’s picked up on a lot of important information.

The young man helps Lu Jiazhi up.

The others are led out, and as Lu Jiazhi steps through the door, he feels a sense of relief, like he’s cheated death. He sees the corridor littered with zombie corpses, all with their skulls cracked open and crystal cores removed.

Outside, more people in black uniforms are moving about, some armed, some not.

Lu Jiazhi suppresses his questions and exchanges a glance with Wang Feng, seeing the same shock and confusion in his eyes. They follow the young man downstairs.

“Too late. Two dead,” the young man says as he leaves Lu Jiazhi and Wang Feng, heading toward a young man standing by a vehicle.

Lu Jiazhi is stunned by the sight of the convoy. A long line of vehicles stretches ahead—over a dozen modified military trucks, off-road vehicles, and buses, totaling more than twenty. Some people are leaning out of the bus windows, looking around. Each vehicle flies two flags: one with the national emblem and the other green with an olive branch pattern and the words “Oasis Base.”

Is this a mobile convoy or a base’s fleet?

Lu Jiazhi and Wang Feng both wonder about the origins of this seemingly powerful convoy.

“Where are the two injured?” the young man asks.

“Over there,” the young man points to Lu Jiazhi and Wang Feng.

The young man looks over, and both sides are momentarily stunned.

Wang Feng squints, surprised, “Hey, isn’t that…”

Lu Jiazhi also recognizes the man.

They walk over, and the young man, who had been smoking, takes the cigarette out of his mouth and says, surprised, “Hey, it’s you!” Clearly, he remembers them too.

The man in the black uniform is none other than Xia Yu, whom they briefly met over a year ago. If you ask Lu Jiazhi why he remembers him, it’s because he was with Gu Ning at the time… And Xia Yu recognizes Lu Jiazhi because of Gu Ning.

Lu Jiazhi instinctively looks around, but among the sea of black uniforms, he doesn’t see that familiar head of golden hair…

Wang Feng, however, is astonished, “What are you doing here? Where are the others you were with? Captain Ji and that little blonde girl?”

Lu Jiazhi’s heart skips a beat, and he looks at Xia Yu, nervous, fearing bad news.

Xia Yu grins, “They’re all in the Capital.”

“Why are you here then?” Wang Feng asks curiously.

Xia Yu explains, “We came from the Oasis Base in the Capital, heading south, killing zombies and searching for survivors in need. We’ve been out for over two months, and this is our last stop before heading back to the Capital. What about you two?” He doesn’t mention the idyllic Dutch town. Since they’re here, it’s likely the town has been overrun by zombies.

“We don’t have a fixed place now. If possible, can