Chapter 10 – The Zombies That Could Open Doors
Luo Xun pried open the pharmacy’s door and quickly swept through the place, collecting what he needed. Of course, he had already removed the surveillance cameras inside just in case.
After carrying the medicines out in several trips and loading them into the van, Luo Xun still hadn’t seen the zombie that dragged away the doorman—or anything else suspicious.
By now, there were more vehicles on the road. From time to time, he caught glimpses of the drivers’ faces: mostly anxious, some dripping with sweat, and a few clearly injured.
With supplies secured, he continued driving toward home. On the way, he passed a grain shop. People inside were busy hauling rice and flour, but strangely there weren’t any zombies around. That thought made Luo Xun’s heart stir…
Before the idea even finished forming, the sharp screech of brakes cut through the air. A police car pulled up in front of the shop, and several officers jumped out.
“Stop looting! This is illegal behavior!”
Other armed policemen got out more cautiously, scanning their surroundings with raised guns. One of them spotted Luo Xun slowing down, frowned, and waved at him.
“Don’t stand around gawking—go home! Lock your doors and windows!”
The reminder jolted Luo Xun. He had forgotten that even though the apocalypse had already begun, at this point the state apparatus was still functioning. His scavenging for solar panels and medicine just now was no different in essence from these people robbing the grain shop—both were technically crimes…
He quickly restarted the van, but then something occurred to him. Leaning out the window, he called loudly to the policeman:
“I just saw someone on the road. He got bit by a z—by someone, and before long he turned into that… Is this thing contagious?”
The policemen’s expressions darkened. Hearing his words, they all turned toward him. The officer who had spoken earlier gave a small nod.
“It might be. Either way, just go home. Don’t go around looting like those people. Close up, wait for government rescue…”
As for when rescue would come, and what society would look like afterward—even they had no certainty.
At the entrances of major supermarkets, chaos was already erupting. Cars were parked haphazardly, and police vehicles had been dispatched to maintain order, trying to stop residents from looting supplies and causing greater harm.
Driving past, Luo Xun only gave the scene a quick glance before heading straight for Hongjing Community. He planned to wait a few more days, confirm the situation outside, and only after ensuring his and his home’s safety would he venture out again to collect more supplies.
He had already stocked up thoroughly before doomsday. There was no need to risk his life for things that weren’t essential—especially when he could lose everything if he wasn’t careful.
Inside the community, there had never been many parked cars, and now there were even fewer. Luo Xun didn’t pause, driving directly to his building.
Using a small handcart he had found at the construction market that day, he hauled his new supplies into the corridor. The cart fit neatly inside the van and made unloading much easier. With one trip, he could move everything straight to the elevator and upstairs.
Power hadn’t gone out yet, so the elevator was still working. Luo Xun waited warily, wolf-tooth club in one hand, cart handle in the other. When the doors opened to reveal an empty interior, he finally let out a breath of relief.
The elevator rose. Passing the fourteenth floor, Luo Xun clearly heard the sound of zombie footsteps in the hallway outside.
The zombies are out?!
His brows furrowed. In truth, zombies inside apartments weren’t too dangerous. As long as they were locked in a room, they couldn’t eat, and without food they couldn’t evolve. After three to five years, they would simply rot away completely.
But if they managed to feed and absorb enough energy, their lifespan would extend. And once that energy reached a certain threshold… they would evolve.
Whether that energy came from feeding or by chance from something in the natural world, Luo Xun didn’t know. Only top-level researchers in the labs might have the answer. He had only ever picked up scraps of information from the news.
Now, the zombies on the fourteenth floor had clearly gotten out. Could it be that someone opened their door from the outside?!
Tension surged through him. If someone was already wandering the building, randomly opening doors, what if his own home had been broken into while he was gone?
The elevator doors slid open. The hallway outside was empty—half his worries eased. His own front door looked as clean and untouched as ever—another quarter gone. Finally, once he opened the door, confirmed there were no intruders, saw his little one wagging its tail in excitement, and checked the cat-eye monitor—which showed no living being had entered during his absence—Luo Xun finally relaxed. He pulled the day’s haul inside.
He stripped off his clothes and gloves, possibly contaminated, and placed them in a separate box in the entryway’s side room. The rest of the supplies were sorted and stored away.
Meanwhile, on the fourteenth floor, several zombies shuffled slowly along the corridor, wandering step by step. To Luo Xun’s surprise, they hadn’t been released by anyone. They had come out on their own.
Perhaps it was because this apartment had been under renovation, with the door often left unlocked while workers came and went. After turning, the zombies had been drawn to the sound of the elevator moving. Pressing against the door in a mindless cluster, one zombie’s hand had accidentally hit the handle. The door opened.
For similar reasons, more zombies in the community were gradually stumbling out. Some gathered in hallways, others drifted into the stairwell, and more still wandered out through the building’s main doors.
Luo Xun didn’t know any of this. He had already changed clothes, organized the new supplies, enjoyed a thorough shower using still-running tap water, and was now lying on the sofa. With the little one nestled against him, finally dozing off, he surfed the web on his phone.
The apocalypse had come suddenly, without the slightest warning. Luo Xun knew that for ordinary people, it was like going to sleep and waking up in another world. Confronted with parents, siblings, or friends suddenly turning into zombies, there was no doubt left—this world had completely, irreversibly, become the end times.
*
Several college-aged boys crept carefully out of a hostel, clutching all sorts of makeshift weapons.
“No zombies!”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
“Where are we heading?”
“Back to campus?”
“No way! There are four people per dorm room. The population density’s too high—it’s definitely the most dangerous place!”
“Then… where do we go?”
“Wait, let me check my phone.” One of the students lowered his head, and the screen showed the very doomsday survival post Luo Xun had written earlier! “It says—pick somewhere with a low population… best to find an empty apartment and wait for rescue. We could barricade the door with furniture or something?”
“Where in A City would we find empty apartments…”
“There might be some. And even if there’s just one zombie inside, we should be able to take it.”
“Should we try leaving the city?”
“Forget it. A City’s huge. I think that guy ‘Useless Otaku’ was right—big cities like this will definitely have rescue operations and set up safe zones sooner or later!”
“Then… should we first gather some food and water?”
“Yeah, and medicine too… God, if I hadn’t read that post, we’d never have snuck out of campus last night to stay here. The innkeeper even thought we were here for some gay orgy!”
With all this pressure, if doomsday hadn’t really come, then checking out this morning would’ve felt like another kind of end of the world…
*
The broad avenues were littered with vehicles, some overturned, some blocking lanes, leaving hardly any room for cars to pass.
A few cars sped down the road. Suddenly, one braked hard at the sight of a pale, staggering figure ahead. “Bang! Bang bang…” Several cars behind couldn’t stop in time, crashing into each other in a chain collision.
A young man lifted his head with effort. His white forehead had struck something, blood streaming down past his narrow eyes and over the teardrop mole at the corner, trailing along his cheek to his chin.
Yan Fei ignored the blood on his head, raising his gaze to the chaotic street. The road ahead was blocked; many had already abandoned their cars. But on both sides, zombies were converging, drawn by the noise.
Behind him, more vehicles had jammed up, cutting off any retreat.
“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath, grabbing the backpack from the passenger seat and reaching for the pistol at his waist. He had a gun, yes—but only six bullets. Even if every shot hit dead center, he could only kill six zombies.
The road out of the city was blocked. Now… where could he go?
*
The city center of A City was in complete chaos. Many woke that morning to find the world had utterly changed. The once-familiar metropolis now resembled a bloodthirsty beast, devouring lives indiscriminately.
A City’s population density was immense. It was only late November, still two or three months before Spring Festival, when migrant workers typically returned home. The city was at peak population.
And even though the outbreak had begun at midnight, plenty of people in this nightlife-loving city had been out until dawn. Especially since November 28th was a Saturday!
Weekend nights were prime time for gatherings. With A City’s abundant entertainment venues, the majority chose to spend the night out. Most partied until late at night—or even all night.
In contrast, the southwestern district Luo Xun had chosen wasn’t so densely populated. Many residents there worked downtown, only returning at night to sleep. On weekends, a large portion never came home at all, preferring to party in the city center.
As a result, the streets of the southwest were far less crowded with zombies than the city core.
