Edge of the Apocalypse
Chapter 17 - 15: Mobile Beast of Burden Zombies

Chapter 17: Chapter 15: Mobile Beast of Burden Zombies

Yu Dong didn’t move.

He turned off the induction cooker and the small desk lamp, then placed a book over his instant noodles.

Everything fell into silence...

CLANG~ CLANG~

The fire door on the fourth floor was still being slammed against, but it was very sturdy and sounded completely fine.

Because it was an outward-opening door.

According to the "Code of Design on Building Fire Protection and Prevention," safety exit doors and fire doors leading directly outside must open outwards to prevent crowding caused by inward-opening doors during a fire. Fire-zone doors in high-rise buildings must have an automatic closing function.

Therefore, both the main exit on the first floor and the stairwell fire door on the fourth floor were designed to facilitate the escape of residents inside; they could only be opened by pushing outwards.

Anyone outside the stairwell wanting to enter would have to pull.

Yu Dong assumed that if these people who had turned into zombies were as unintelligent as the ones in movies and TV shows, they probably couldn’t distinguish between inward- and outward-opening doors. This would mean they would only know how to push and slam... In that case, unless they could tear down the brick-and-mortar walls of the stairwell, they had no hope of getting in.

Yu Dong wasn’t worried about this line of defense for now.

He just listened quietly...

Gradually, the sound disappeared.

Yu Dong lifted the book off his instant noodles, stirred the slightly mushy noodles, and continued to eat.

’The thing outside the door just now only knew how to smash and bang, not pull. It’s a zombie, and its intelligence really is low.’

’Someone actually turned into a zombie in the stairwell... This is a bit tricky.’

This meant that the stairwell of the entire Building One was no longer safe.

He absolutely could not open the fourth-floor fire door now, or he would very likely come face-to-face with a zombie. He didn’t know if he could handle it.

At the same time, Yu Dong realized there was both good news and bad news.

’The good news is that this fire door in our stairwell is self-closing. If other residents haven’t deliberately damaged the automatic closing mechanism on their floors, that zombie probably won’t be a threat to the residents on each level. It’ll just keep wandering the stairwell.’

’The bad news is that my range of activity is now restricted to my own floor. I can’t go out to scout the situation in Building One.’

According to Yu Dong’s observations over the past few days, there were 17 other households living in the 32-story Building One, totaling more than 30 people besides himself.

He had already investigated and marked down who lived in every single household.

Yu Dong had originally planned to check on each household one by one after the zombie virus outbreak to determine how many living people and how many zombies were inside Building One, and whether it was safe.

Then, he could just seal the apartments containing zombies from the outside with angle steel, trapping them completely inside. Building One would become a large safe zone, and there would be many things he could do.

Now, this zombie wandering the stairwell had completely disrupted his plans.

If he wanted to proceed with his original plan, he would have to kill this zombie.

Yu Dong thought about it and decided against it.

’I still don’t know what these zombies are capable of. What if it’s beyond my comprehension... I’ll just wait and see for now.’

Yu Dong prepared to stay home for a few days and observe the situation.

After eating, Yu Dong found a spot with a good view, raised his binoculars, and continued to scan the Xiangti Bay Community for survivors and zombies.

Most people were in a panic right now and still had the habit of keeping their lights on, just like before.

Yu Dong quickly marked the locations of suspected survivors.

Meanwhile, he kept his own lights off. His windows were covered with privacy film, and the curtains were drawn. Even if someone had binoculars, it would be very difficult for them to see what was going on in his apartment.

Tonight, Yanhai City suddenly fell quiet, as if everything had been put on pause.

Only the occasional scream and roar broke the silence...

And those who had survived by a stroke of luck were now steeped in terror.

...

Building One, 3rd Floor.

A zombie in a suit was pounding on a security door. Its face was covered in blood, its eyes bulged, and its expression was savage and terrifying.

POUND! POUND! POUND!

It didn’t leave for a long time, as if drawn by some fatal attraction.

Liu Ye’ye was curled up in her bedroom, huddled under the covers in the darkness. Her body trembled nonstop as she tearfully dialed her dad’s number for the 58th time.

"The number you have dialed is currently switched off..."

Upon hearing this message, Liu Ye’ye broke down completely and began to sob.

"Waaa~ Daddy..."

Ever since she had seen the hellish scene outside and received that text message from the government, she had been calling her dad nonstop.

He never picked up, until just now when the call went straight to the switched-off message...

Liu Ye’ye knew her worst fear had come true.

Her only support in this world was most likely gone...

With this number unreachable, she didn’t know who else could save her.

The zombie outside was still relentlessly pounding on the security door, making Liu Ye’ye’s heart plunge into an icy abyss.

The only thing she was thankful for now was that she had originally planned to come home today, change out of her hanfu, and treat herself to a delicious revolving hot pot.

But she had been scared by what her senior had said about a stalker and had sulkily stayed home and ordered takeout instead.

She didn’t dare to imagine what would have happened to her if she were outside the community right now...

The image of the senior who lived on the fourth floor grew even taller in her mind.

Suddenly, Liu Ye’ye recalled something her dad had said two years ago when he was taking her to school... Her heart felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and two streams of hot tears instantly flowed down her cheeks.

’Dad... are you the one saving me?’

She bit her lip hard.

’I’ll cherish this chance. I will definitely survive!’

...

Last night, Yu Dong kept hearing the faint sound of a zombie banging on a door.

It wasn’t banging on his door, but it was very close.

’Where is that zombie banging?’

Yu Dong felt it was a little too close; he could even feel the sense of danger.

It ruined his appetite for cooking. He simply ate a compressed biscuit, drank some water, and went to organize his gear.

He put on his ten-thousand-yuan set of protective gear, placed the tactical knife at his waist, picked up the sharpened manganese steel spear, and opened his apartment door.

He pulled it open a crack and, after confirming the fourth floor was completely safe, leaned out.

Leaving his apartment door ajar, he slowly walked over to the fire door.

He had locked it with a chain, but unlike welding or screwing it shut, it wasn’t completely immobile. It could still be pushed open to create a small gap.

Yu Dong peered through the gap into the stairwell outside. He saw nothing.

But the sound of the zombie’s pounding was clearer.

After listening for a moment, Yu Dong confirmed it was coming from the third floor.

’This sound... it’s not the sound of a fire door being hit. It sounds like a resident’s security door. Strange, how did a zombie get inside the third-floor hallway?’

’Did it learn how to pull doors open?’

This was the first time Yu Dong was officially confronting one of these things. He knew that his previous knowledge of "zombies" was only a reference; what he was facing was definitely different.

Judging the S-virus infected he was currently encountering based on the lore from some movie, TV show, or novel was an utterly absurd thing to do.

Every situation is unique.

This is true for all things in the world. No matter how similar an analogy is, it is still just an analogy and can never fully describe the thing itself.

He had to investigate personally to determine the specific situation of the S-virus infected.

Suddenly, the pounding from downstairs stopped.

Immediately after, the sound of running echoed up!

The zombie was sprinting upstairs!

In an instant, the zombie ran from the third floor up to his fire door!

ROAR!!!

The zombie roared at Yu Dong through the door.

This time, Yu Dong finally saw who it was.

It was that middle-aged workhorse he had seen yesterday morning. He had turned into a zombie in the stairwell and was now roaming through it.

After getting a clear look, Yu Dong prepared to close the gap completely.

But the workhorse zombie wouldn’t allow it. It jammed its twisted fingers into the gap with all its might, not caring that its flesh was being scraped away, filled only with a fanatical craving for fresh meat.

ROAR!!!

Through the door, a foul, coppery stench assaulted Yu Dong’s face.