Chapter 41

Chapter 41: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 41

In the dimly lit room, the soldiers, who had finally temporarily shaken off the zombie horde, leaned against the wall, gasping heavily due to exhaustion. Despite their near-collapse state, they hadn’t fully relaxed yet, their gun barrels still raised, ready for another round of battle.

After a headcount, Zhong Xu, his face pale and drenched in sweat, said, “Wu Qiang, Chen Yao, and Zhang Zhilin didn’t make it.”

The soldiers fell into a collective silence, all too aware of the grim fate that awaited those who didn’t keep up.

Third Brother wiped the sweat from his forehead, suppressing the grief in his eyes, and said, “Hand me the walkie-talkie. I need to talk to Gu Ning.”

The soldiers rummaged around, and finally, Luo Long handed one over.

Third Brother took it, flipped the switch, and just as he was about to speak, the red light on the walkie-talkie blinked twice and then went dead.

“What’s going on?!”

Luo Long, his face pale, said, “It’s out of battery.”

The room fell silent again.

Third Brother looked like he wanted to curse, his mouth opening and closing, but in the end, he held back and instead asked, “How much ammo do we have left?”

“We used up a lot earlier. There’s not much left, maybe thirty or forty rounds per person,” Zhong Xu replied.

Thinking about the fierce battle they had just fought, the soldiers in the room felt a chill.

Zhong Xu continued, “If we try to break out now, we’ll probably get overwhelmed by zombies halfway through.”

They had been chased by the zombie horde to Eleventh Square, which was already in the city center. It had taken a tremendous effort to fight their way through and take refuge in the basement of Eleventh Square. The so-called basement was actually a public toilet, a shabby one at that, where an old man used to live.

Descending the stairs from the ground, there was a long “living room” with a table and a few chairs. A narrow room served as the bedroom, and next to it was the rudimentary public toilet. Using the toilet cost fifty cents, and an extra fifty cents if you wanted toilet paper. The old man who guarded the toilet was either gone or already dead. Before Third Brother and his group arrived, others had already taken over the place.

The banging on the door gradually stopped, and the soldiers couldn’t help but sigh in relief, relaxing their tense muscles slightly. Immediately, a wave of soreness spread throughout their bodies.

The room was very dimly lit, with only a half-burned candle on the table providing the sole source of light, casting flickering shadows on everyone’s faces.

“Is there any food?” A man, though disheveled, still exuded an air of refinement and handsomeness, suddenly asked with a slightly awkward smile. “We’ve been trapped here for a day and haven’t eaten anything.”

There were six of them in total, three men and three women, all looking quite worn out, likely from prolonged hunger. At the man’s words, five pairs of eyes immediately turned toward the soldiers, filled with hope.

The soldiers, remembering how these people had opened the door for them during the critical moment, reluctantly squeezed the remaining supplies in their pockets and placed a small portion on the table. Luo Long also took a bottle of mineral water from his backpack and placed it next to the supplies.

The man distributed the meager supplies to each person and then said gratefully, “Thank you.”

He ate a few biscuits, easing the sharp pain in his stomach from hunger, took a sip of water, and handed the bottle to the pretty girl beside him. Then, looking at Third Brother, he tentatively asked, “I think I heard you mention a name earlier. Do you know Gu Ning?”

Third Brother was taken aback, sizing up the man, and then asked with some surprise, “What? You know her too?”

If Gu Ning were here, she would have recognized the young man speaking as Lu Jiazhi. The other two men and three women included her uncle Jiang Yuezhou, Jiang Yu, and her aunt.

Lu Jiazhi’s eyes flickered momentarily, some unknown thought passing through his mind, and then he smiled slightly, saying, “Yes, I know her. This is her uncle’s family.”

“Oh?” Third Brother was genuinely surprised. He examined Jiang Yuezhou by the candlelight and indeed saw a slight resemblance to Gu Ning.

Hearing that they were Gu Ning’s relatives, the soldiers, who had been somewhat tense, relaxed a bit. Luo Long even smiled and said, “What a coincidence. If we make it out alive, you can come with us to the gathering place. Gu Ning and her parents are there.”

At this, Jiang Yuezhou, who had been silent until now, became visibly excited. “My sister and brother-in-law are still alive?!”

Luo Long smiled, “Don’t worry, they’re doing fine.”

Suddenly, Lin Meifeng interjected with a sarcastic tone, “They’re doing fine, but we’ve been ruined by that wretched girl Gu Ning.”

“Mom!” Jiang Yu tugged at her disapprovingly.

The previously harmonious atmosphere in the room shifted, and the soldiers’ expressions turned strange.

Luo Long and Zhong Xu exchanged glances, sensing something was off, and they stopped smiling, falling silent.

Third Brother glanced at his watch. It was 3:30 PM, only an hour left until the time he had agreed to meet with Gu Ning. He both hoped she would come and feared she would.

He hoped she would come because their small group with a few guns would struggle to break out on their own. He feared she would come because he was worried about her safety.

Most of the soldiers in the room shared Third Brother’s thoughts.

But deep down, they all believed Gu Ning and her group wouldn’t come, as they hadn’t yet formed a deep bond.

Thinking this, the soldiers’ spirits sank.

A soldier who had gone upstairs to check the situation came down and shook his head at Third Brother. “There are too many zombies on the square, at least a few hundred. We don’t have enough bullets to break through.”

“Bring out everything,” Third Brother suddenly said.

The soldiers then took out all the crystal cores they had harvested from the zombies. Although they had paid a heavy price in the battle with the zombie horde, their gains were not insignificant.

Almost everyone had collected several cores.

But only four of them had color.

Red, yellow, gold, and blue.

After washing them, the brain matter on the cores was completely removed, leaving them sparkling and translucent.

Third Brother picked up a yellow core, marveling, “Who would have thought such beautiful things could grow in a zombie’s brain?” With that, he popped the core into his mouth, and it almost instantly melted, turning into a cool stream that flowed down his throat. His expression turned strange, and then he said, “Gu Ning said I’d pass out after eating this. Don’t do anything yet; wait for my reaction. If I wake up, you can eat yours. If I turn into a zombie, don’t hesitate to take me down.” Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Third Brother collapsed to the ground without warning.

Zhong Xu, quick to react, caught him.

Although the soldiers were prepared, the sudden collapse still caused some panic. They quickly carried Third Brother into the small bedroom.

They had been speaking in hushed tones, not letting Lu Jiazhi and the others hear.

Now, with Third Brother suddenly collapsing, they were startled.

“Is he okay?” Lu Jiazhi asked with concern.

Luo Long replied succinctly, “He’s fine.”

Then there was silence.

Lu Jiazhi clearly understood that their sudden coldness stemmed from that one remark, and he shot Lin Meifeng a displeased look.

Lin Meifeng, unusually, didn’t act as domineeringly as usual in front of Lu Jiazhi, merely looking somewhat embarrassed.

Half an hour passed.

Zou Ming, shining a small flashlight on Third Brother’s face in the darkness, said uneasily, “Third Brother won’t turn into a zombie, will he?”

“If he does, you’ll have to take him down,” Zhong Xu said.

Zou Ming replied, “If you can’t do it, how can I?”

Suddenly! Third Brother, who had been lying still, sat bolt upright.

The two, completely unprepared, were startled out of their wits. Zou Ming’s already taut nerves snapped, and he instinctively thrust his knife forward!

But before the knife could reach Third Brother’s chest, it hit something incredibly hard.

Third Brother cursed, “I’m not a zombie yet, and you’re already trying to stab me!”

“Third Brother, are you okay?” Zou Ming broke out in a cold sweat. Shining the flashlight, he saw Third Brother holding a brick, and his thrust had landed right on it. He exclaimed in surprise, “Third Brother, where did you get that brick?”

Before he could finish, his voice cut off abruptly.

Zou Ming, Zhong Xu, and the soldiers who had rushed in upon hearing the commotion were all stunned.

Looking at the palm-sized earth spike floating in front of Third Brother, Zhong Xu, whether out of excitement or nervousness, couldn’t keep his voice from trembling. “Third Brother, you… you did it!”

Third Brother nodded with a smile.

The soldiers were too excited to speak.

Zou Ming, staring at the floating earth spike, said in amazement, “It’s like magic!”

“Not magic, it’s a special ability! A special ability, got it?”

Zhong Xu gestured to the excited Third Brother, signaling him to calm down and keep it low-key. Then, cautiously, he reached out to take the floating earth spike. Feeling its weight and rough texture, he finally believed it was real, his emotions indescribable.

“It’s pretty sharp,” one soldier said curiously, poking the tip of the spike with his finger.

“Not just sharp, it can kill too.”

The hidden pride in Third Brother’s words made the soldiers smile knowingly.

Outside the small room, Lu Jiazhi and the others, seeing the soldiers all crowded into the bedroom, had no idea what secret activity was going on. They only heard occasional faint sounds from the room but couldn’t make out what was being said.

These people must have a close relationship with Gu Ning, otherwise, they wouldn’t have turned cold so quickly after Lin Meifeng’s remark.

Thinking this, Lu Jiazhi frowned slightly, glancing at Lin Meifeng a few times.

As if sensing his displeasure, Jiang Yu tugged at his clothes and cooed, “Alright, Jiazhi, Mom didn’t mean it.”

Lu Jiazhi looked at Jiang Yu’s pretty face and, for some reason, suddenly felt a wave of impatience.

The soldiers excitedly chatted for a while, then turned their attention to the remaining three crystal cores.

“Give them to Zhong Xu, Zou Ming, and Luo Long,” one soldier suggested. “They killed the most zombies.”

The other soldiers agreed.

Zhong Xu, Zou Ming, and Luo Long, feeling embarrassed, said they had self-defense capabilities and should let others have them.

Third Brother, watching the soldiers defer to each other, felt a sense of relief. Although the world was now filled with death and moral decay, at least his soldiers hadn’t fallen. Of course, what he thought and what he showed were two different things. Third Brother impatiently said, “What’s with the modesty?! What’s the rush? There are zombies everywhere outside, and crystal cores all over the ground. Zou Ming, Zhong Xu, Luo Long, you three eat them. When we break out, you four better fight like your lives depend on it and get everyone out safely!”

“Yes, Lieutenant!”

With that, Zhong Xu, Zou Ming, and Luo Long each took a core, exchanged glances, and then, under the hopeful gazes of the soldiers, swallowed them.

Meanwhile, Gu Ning and her group hadn’t given up searching for Third Brother and his team.

The ground was littered with dozens of zombie corpses, shell casings everywhere, evidence of a fierce battle. There were no signs of fire, so it must have been Third Brother’s group.

Some zombie heads had been cracked open, clearly someone had harvested the cores. But in their haste, many heads were still intact. Except for Xiang Xu, everyone else had become “ruthless,” using small knives to dig through each zombie’s head, taking advantage of the situation.

“It’s Wu Qiang!” Zhang Xiaobai suddenly exclaimed, then rushed over to where Wu Qiang lay and flipped him over.

Before Zhang Xiaobai could check if Wu Qiang was still alive, Wu Qiang’s tightly shut eyes suddenly opened, red veins slowly moving within them—then he grabbed Zhang Xiaobai’s head and lunged to bite his face!

Zhang Xiaobai, horrified, couldn’t dodge in time!

Just as the gaping mouth was about to touch his skin, there was a “thud,” the sound of a blade piercing flesh. Zhang Xiaobai saw a small knife embedded in Wu Qiang’s forehead, his eyes wide open, already dead. Gu Ning walked over, pulled out the knife, and a stream of gray-black fluid flowed from the wound—”Next time, you might not be so lucky.”

Hearing Gu Ning’s words, Zhang Xiaobai shuddered, realizing that if it weren’t for her timely strike, even a scratch could have infected him. The thought sent a chill through his body, and he quickly pushed the corpse away, scrambling to his feet.

They checked the remaining zombie heads.

Gu Ning looked at Xiang Xu, who shook his head slightly, indicating no sign of Third Brother.

Suddenly! Xiang Xu’s expression changed drastically, and he turned sharply to the east, exclaiming in horror, “Run!”