Chapter 18

【System Prompt: Human vital signs detected as lost, hostile target count reduced by 1】

The sound of the gunshot echoed in the living room, causing the candle flame to flicker violently.

Lin Chen stared at the door crack; that eye had already vanished, replaced by blood gushing out in a steady stream.

A muffled grunt came from outside, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.

"Hit," Lin Chen said in a low voice, his finger still hooked on the trigger.

Xia Nuan and Su Qing poked their heads out from behind the secret door, their faces paler than paper.

"Move aside," Lin Chen said to them, reaching out to push the pile of furniture.

Su Qing suddenly pressed down on his hand: "Wait, there are two more."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an indescribable coldness.

Lin Chen glanced at her and released his hand.

Panicked voices drifted in from outside.

"Old Third is dead! That bastard actually dared to shoot!"

"What do we do? The door is almost pried open..."

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Footsteps ran toward the truck, the engine started quickly, and the tires emitted a harsh, grating sound as they crushed the snow.

Lin Chen walked to the window, watching the truck's taillights disappear around the street corner, yet his brow remained furrowed.

"They won't just leave like this," he said.

Su Qing nodded, her gaze falling on the blood seeping through the door crack, her pupils slightly contracting.

【System Prompt: Fresh blood scent detected, surrounding zombie horde is gathering, expected to arrive within 5 minutes】

"Trouble is coming," Lin Chen pulled open the secret door, "You two go down first, I'll handle this."

Xia Nuan grabbed him: "Handle it how?"

"The smell of blood will attract more zombies; we have to drag the body further away."

Lin Chen moved the furniture pile aside and laboriously pulled open the deformed door.

Cold wind swirled in with the snow, carrying a thick, heavy scent of blood.

The person who had been hit lay prone in the snow, the blood from his chest staining a large patch of white snow red.

Just as he was about to reach out to drag him, Su Qing suddenly walked over.

"I'll do it," she said, picking up a steel pipe from the ground.

Lin Chen was stunned.

Su Qing didn't look at him; she walked straight to the corpse, raised the steel pipe, and smashed it down fiercely.

Once, then again, until that corpse was completely unrecognizable.

"What are you doing?" Xia Nuan gasped.

Su Qing didn't stop; her movements grew faster and faster, blood splattered on her face, yet her eyes remained abnormally calm.

Lin Chen suddenly understood—she was destroying the corpse, or rather, preparing "food."

"Let her do it," Lin Chen stopped Xia Nuan, "This can buy us time."

Su Qing stopped her movements, looked at the remains on the ground, then looked at the swaying black shadows in the distance.

She crouched down, grabbed a handful of bloody snow, and stuffed it into her mouth; her Adam's apple bobbed once.

"Are you crazy?" Xia Nuan retreated a step in fear.

Su Qing ignored her, continuing to stuff something into her mouth, a look of satisfaction gradually appearing on her face.

This was the first time she had been this "full" since the apocalypse began.

Lin Chen turned his head away, not wanting to watch anymore.

He knew the virus inside Su Qing needed energy, and fresh flesh and blood were the best "nourishment."

【System Prompt: Su Qing's physical fitness value restored to 80%, virus activity stable, emotional fluctuations intense】

"The zombies are almost here," Lin Chen glanced into the distance, those black shadows drawing closer, "Go down."

Su Qing stood up, the corners of her mouth still stained with blood, her eyes shining with a terrifying light.

She didn't speak, following Lin Chen into the secret door.

Xia Nuan had already lit the emergency light in the basement, the pale light illuminating the narrow passage.

"Will they get in?" she asked.

Lin Chen closed the secret door tightly: "Not for now, the smell of blood will keep them outside for a while."

The passage was very quiet, with only the sound of the three people's breathing and the faint, distant roars of zombies audible.

Su Qing leaned against the wall, eyes closed, as if savoring the "food" from just now.

Xia Nuan stayed far away from her, her eyes filled with fear.

"Don't be afraid," Lin Chen said in a low voice, "She won't hurt us right now."

"But she..."

"She needs energy to suppress the virus; this is the most direct way," Lin Chen sighed, "At least she didn't set her sights on us."

After walking for about half an hour, a faint light appeared at the end of the passage.

Lin Chen signaled for them to stop, poking his head out first to take a look.

Outside was a pine forest; there were no footprints in the snow, so it was safe for the moment.

"Come out," he pulled open the passage door.

Just as Xia Nuan was about to go out, Su Qing suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Wait," Su Qing pointed to the hillside in the distance, "There are people there."

Lin Chen looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw several black shadows swaying in the pine forest.

Judging by their attire, they looked like the two people who had run away earlier.

"They didn't leave," Lin Chen gripped his shotgun, "It seems they want to wait for us to come out."

Su Qing licked the blood from the corner of her mouth: "Leave it to me."

"Don't kill them," Lin Chen said, "We need information."

Su Qing didn't speak, rushing out like a cheetah and quickly disappearing into the pine forest.

Lin Chen said to Xia Nuan: "Wait here, I'll go take a look."

He had only run a few steps when he heard screams coming from the pine forest.

They weren't Su Qing's; they were those two people's.

Immediately following that was the roar of zombies, more intense than before.

Lin Chen's heart sank, and he quickened his pace to rush over.

The scene before him made him gasp—Su Qing was being besieged by over a dozen zombies, and those two people had already been torn to shreds.

"Su Qing!" Lin Chen fired, knocking down the zombie in the front.

Su Qing looked back at him, her eyes devoid of fear, filled only with excitement.

She grabbed a zombie's arm, ripped it off, and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Crazy..." Lin Chen muttered, firing continuously to cover her.

Su Qing ate while fighting, her physical fitness value rising higher and higher, her movements becoming faster and faster.

Those zombies were no match for her at all, and most were quickly dealt with.

Just then, a heaven-shaking roar came from the distance.

Lin Chen looked up, his scalp instantly tingling—a black, dense mass of zombies was surging down from the hillside, at least a hundred of them.

"Run!" Lin Chen grabbed Su Qing's arm.

Su Qing was still tearing at a zombie's corpse and only reacted when he pulled her.

The two ran toward Xia Nuan's location, the roars behind them growing closer.

"Xia Nuan! Run!" Lin Chen shouted.

Xia Nuan had long since been scared weak-kneed; seeing them run over, she tremblingly followed.

The three ran wildly through the pine forest, the zombies' roars following like shadows.

Su Qing ran in the lead, her physical fitness showing no signs of decline, instead getting faster and faster.

Lin Chen followed closely behind, turning back from time to time to fire and slow the zombies down.

【System Prompt: Large-scale zombie horde has formed, covering an area of 1 square kilometer, suggest finding a sturdy shelter immediately】

"There's a cave ahead!" Xia Nuan suddenly shouted, pointing to the rock wall to the front left.

Lin Chen looked over, and indeed, there was a pitch-black cave entrance.

"Over there!" he shouted.

The three rushed into the cave, and Lin Chen immediately used rocks to block the entrance, leaving only a crack to observe the outside.

The zombies' roars echoed outside the cave, but they couldn't get in for the time being.

"Safe for now," Lin Chen leaned against the rock wall to catch his breath, the wound on his lower back splitting open again.

Xia Nuan slumped on the ground, gasping for air.

Su Qing walked to the depths of the cave and sat down with her back to them, wondering what she was thinking.

Lin Chen looked at her back, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.

He knew Su Qing was becoming less and less human.

But right now, she was their only hope for survival.

The roars outside the cave gradually subsided but didn't disperse.

Those zombies, like sharks smelling blood, lingered outside the cave.

"They won't leave," Lin Chen said, "We have to find a way to break out."

Su Qing suddenly turned her head, her eyes flashing red in the darkness: "I have a way."

"What way?"

Su Qing smiled, revealing teeth stained with blood: "Use 'food' to lure them away."

Lin Chen immediately understood what she meant—use herself as bait.

"No," he refused without even thinking, "It's too dangerous."

"This is the only way," Su Qing stood up, "Besides, I need more 'food'."

Her tone was calm, as if she were talking about the most ordinary thing.

Lin Chen looked at her, suddenly unable to speak.

He knew Su Qing was right, yet he couldn't accept this proposal.

The zombies outside the cave suddenly caused a commotion, as if attracted by something.

Lin Chen looked out through the crack, his face instantly turning pale.

On the hillside, several people in camouflage appeared.

They were the very group that had pretended to be the safe zone earlier.

They held guns in their hands and were running toward the cave, followed by a large group of zombies.

"They did it on purpose!" Xia Nuan screamed, "They want to lure the zombies here!"

Lin Chen gripped his shotgun, his eyes cold.

He knew the real trouble had only just begun.

And trapped in this cave, with a zombie horde in front and pursuers behind, they had almost no way to live.

Su Qing walked to his side, looking at the scene outside, the corners of her mouth curling into an eerie smile.

"Looks like my 'food' has increased again."