CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22 DANGER APPROACHES_1

Tang Ye couldn’t locate Zheng Minghui. He made noise to lure other zombies, but they simply ignored him. Discovering it was Tang Ye, they dispersed, almost driving Tang Ye to the point of infuriation.

Perhaps he should let it go, but the loss of a gun was too significant. Tang Ye was far from reconciled. How long had he had that gun? Just a fucking day! Then, it was stolen. Who could swallow that?

Tang Ye glanced outside where dusk had painted half the sky. He figured he might as well stay here overnight. He refused to believe that the thief wouldn’t show up.

He checked himself for injuries from his tumble. Due to his ample food intake, his bones were unusually durable. Apart from a few scratches, Tang Ye didn’t sustain any significant injury.

Tang Ye found a bed to lie down, but he was constantly worried that the thief who stole his gun might sneak out while he was "dead." He climbed off the bed, stepped outside for a look, and found no one in the hallway. Reassured, he lay back down.

Tang Ye began to fantasize about catching the little bastard and teaching him a harsh lesson.

He slowly closed his eyes as his energy slowed down and all bodily functions ceased. Tang Ye’s entire body entered hibernation.

What Tang Ye didn’t know was that, in a bathroom, a figure covered in black and yellow filth climbed out of the Dung Pit.

"Ma De! That was disgusting!"

Zheng Minghui stood up. The indescribable stench lingered in his nostrils, making him nauseous. However, his survival trumped any unpleasantness. He had hidden in a room when Tang Ye returned to the upstairs, but he was restless until he hid in the Dung Pit - an unorthodox move that saved his life!

After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ye woke up from his laying ’dead’. He walked outside and squinted at the sun hanging high in the sky. He tried shielding his eyes with his hand, but realized there was no light-induced pain and retracted his hand.

"What time is it? I must find something to tell!" Tang Ye had no idea how long he had been sleeping. He woke from a dreamless sleep, feeling as if a blink separated him from another era. Without any way to tell the time, he felt uneasy.

"I need to get a watch from a store."

Tang Ye scratched his head, picked up his crowbar, and glared at it. The lack of a gun ignited Tang Ye’s fury. The gun was stolen before he could even make good use of it. He was unbalanced, wanting to tear Zheng Minghui into pieces.

With a sigh, he descended the stairs, giving up the search for Zheng Minghui. Who knew where he was?

After a 10-minute walk, he arrived at a mall. Inside were luxury watches he once could only dream of owning. Now, he could take as many as he wanted.

Many items were left in a mess due to the chaos caused by the post-apocalyptic outbreak. Dried, black bloodstains were scattered all over, revealing the panic people experienced.

Surveying the various items in sight, Tang Ye muttered. He needed an electronic watch, the type that can replace batteries!

He walked into a random shop, ignoring the dead zombie on the floor. He picked up a digital watch, tore open the packaging, and put it on. Surprised, he checked the time.

"Holy fuck, it’s already the 5th?" Looking at the date displayed, Tang Ye was stunned.

The outbreak occurred on June 25. Ten days had passed since then?

"How long was I asleep?"

Tang Ye estimated that about three days had passed since he turned into a zombie, but the watch showed four extra days. The randomness of waking up from hibernation made Tang Ye afraid to go to sleep.

"I must hurry and deliver some food to the mother and daughter!" Tang Ye thought, considering that little Lanlan was the only person who had shown him kindness. He didn’t want Lanlan and her mother to starve to death.

He was a bit uneasy, probably due to his long hibernation! Walking into a convenience store, he grabbed a plastic bag and hastily filled it with food.

Unbeknownst to Tang Ye, little Lanlan and her mother were peeking out a large window at the zombie-filled street.

"Mom, why isn’t the uncle here yet?" Lanlan looked up at her mother, who was eating instant noodles.

"Don’t worry, Lanlan. That uncle will come. When he does, Mom will take you to live with him. Is that okay, Lanlan?"

Lanlan looked puzzled with her mouth open—she didn’t want to tell her mother that their savior was a zombie. However, she was quite happy to hear that they would be living with Tang Ye.

The innocence in her heart made her confident that her mother wouldn’t mind if Tang Ye was a zombie.

She resumed her guard at the window, her face filled with longing.

"Zombie Uncle, when are you coming to our house?..."

Turning around, she headed for the door.

"Lanlan, where are you going? It’s not safe outside!"

"I’m going outside to see if Uncle is here yet!" Lanlan said, reaching for the doorknob. Shocked, her mother, Hu Yayun, rushed out after her. She didn’t see many zombies outside over the past couple of days, probably all killed by the mystery man. But her heart still skipped a beat seeing her daughter opening the door.

Reaching the empty hallway, Lanlan looked down the stairwell. Not seeing the zombie uncle, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Relieved to find no zombies in sight, Hu Yayun walked behind Lanlan and put her hand on her thin shoulders.

"Lanlan, it’s okay. The uncle will be here soon. We should go back inside for now and wait for him patiently. Okay?"

Hu Yayun said gently, Lamlan nodded reluctantly.

With a faint smile, Hu Yayun led Lanlan back to their apartment. What they didn’t notice was a small zombie with a green face looking at them from a window ledge. It jumped down, heading towards them.

Hu Yayun and Lanlan were back in their apartment. The small zombie reached their building within moments. Standing in front of their apartment, it was perplexed as to how two humans could have suddenly vanished.

Contemplatively looking at their door, whether by accident or design, it leaned forward, bumping its forehead lightly against the door twice.

Thud! Thud!