Chapter Eleven: Hurry, give me the rope.

Qi Xi’s hatchet was somewhat better than Watermelon’s unsharpened dagger.

Casually, he used the world’s system to quantify the hatchet’s stats.

[Name: Worn Hatchet]
[Category: Equipment]
[Quality: Poor]
[Attribute: None]
[Attack Power: Ordinary. Sharpened to a fine edge, making quick work of wood—and just as quick work of people, should it come to that.]
[Remarks: Look, do you see the faint traces of blood and the subtle murderous aura coiling about the blade? Is this a murder weapon? Has it perhaps killed someone before?]

This note was just as misleading as ever. Whether or not this hatchet had ever killed, Qi Xi couldn’t spot any hint of blood or sinister aura on the blade, no matter how closely he peered. Where was this talk of a murder weapon coming from? Clearly, the system was just having fun at his expense.

Before long, everyone set out, moving warily along the edge of the street, trying not to draw the attention of the zombies.

Qi Xi walked with careful, measured steps. Positioned at the center of the group, he had no need to worry about zombies suddenly bursting from the front or launching a surprise attack from behind.

The person leading wasn’t Li Feidao, but Watermelon, clutching his dagger. Li Feidao took up the rear, gripping his axe, body turned protectively toward the back, ready to hold the line should the need arise.

Just behind Qi Xi was Xiao Fengyu. Seeing Qi Xi ahead of her, her face pale, she nonetheless felt steadier at heart. Biting her lip, she steeled herself: she must be brave and strong, or else this man would never spare her a second glance.

Behind Xiao Fengyu came Liang Fei, and behind Liang Fei, Nan Housheng. Ahead of Qi Xi was Qiu Xiaoyan, guiding the way for the group, though due to her lack of combat strength, Watermelon had to take the frontmost position.

Despite their caution, it was inevitable that they would be noticed by zombies. Qi Xi didn’t know how the undead detected seven people moving so quietly, but there was no time to ponder that now—a zombie was already pursuing them.

One zombie could be handled, but if the noise from its attack drew the attention of more, they’d soon be beset on all sides. No matter how carefully they’d planned, at that point, nothing would save them.

Agile and swift, Watermelon was naturally the best suited to deal with the threat. He lunged forward, dagger in hand, and with a single stroke to the head, dispatched the zombie in utter silence.

The group pressed on, but hadn’t advanced fifty meters before another zombie suddenly lunged from the side, nearly seizing Qiu Xiaoyan. Watermelon dashed over, sweeping his leg to knock the creature down. It crashed into the tables and chairs of a small eatery, smashing them in the process—Watermelon had used his full strength, and the effect was dramatic.

But the noise was too much.

Instantly, they drew the attention of the surrounding zombies.

Nearly ten zombies had spotted them, surging forward to attack.

Everyone’s face darkened. The zombies’ reactions were terrifyingly swift, leaving no time to prepare or slip away unnoticed. The slightest commotion would bring them running to investigate.

A chorus of guttural howls erupted as the group of ten zombies charged.

They’d been spotted, but there was still time to flee.

They all bolted without hesitation.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t win a fight; they could kill these ten zombies if they had to. But the time it would take would surely draw more, and then what? Could they handle twenty? A hundred? Even if, in the end, Watermelon fought to the death to save Qi Xi, it would only end in tragedy. The mere thought that a scratch from a zombie could infect you was enough to make anyone’s scalp tingle.

“Hurry up!”

Qi Xi quickly called out to Watermelon, who was about to finish off the zombie he’d just knocked down.

“Got it,” Watermelon replied, sparing the creature. The zombie didn’t seem to care; to it, Watermelon was just another ordinary human—food, the finest gift from above, though it knew nothing of heaven itself. It lunged at Watermelon, relentless.

But no matter what it tried, it was no threat to Watermelon, who had no interest in further entanglement. He slammed the door shut, jumped up to yank down the security shutter, and quickly caught up with the group. The zombie, smashing the glass door, had no idea how the shutter worked. It could only pound on the door again and again, trying to break through and charge out, but it had lost its chance to threaten Qi Xi and the others.

As Qi Xi moved cautiously onward, three zombies suddenly burst from a nearby shop, so close that the group was momentarily thrown into chaos.

But Qi Xi raised his hatchet and struck without hesitation—utterly fearless! He knew Watermelon would come to his aid, and Li Feidao as well.

Qi Xi swung down, severing the brittle neck of a zombie and lopping off its head.

Even decapitated, the zombie lived—the head rolled on the ground, jaws snapping open and shut, still alive.

But once a zombie lost its head, it lost control of its body, which became a lifeless shell. The head couldn’t move and would just wait to be desiccated by the sun, shriveling into a dried husk—perhaps to be scavenged by something else.

Just as the other two zombies rushed Qi Xi, Watermelon and Li Feidao appeared at his sides. One wielded a dagger, the other a fire axe. With a synchronized yell, they struck together, their blows landing almost simultaneously.

The zombies were dispatched with ease, but what was truly intolerable was the stench—the foul blood and brains that spattered everywhere, enough to make one retch up breakfast.

Still, after a while, even such unbearable stench became something you could almost get used to.

There was no time to linger. Dozens of zombies were already converging from behind, and more were coming from afar.

“Move! Move!” Qi Xi shouted. The group stuck to their planned route, but as always, fate had other ideas: up ahead, dozens of zombies blocked their path.

Damn it!

It wasn’t a miscalculation—their luck was simply abysmal.

This was worse than yesterday; the zombies were closer now. If they got any nearer, it was all over. Killing or driving back zombies took time, and any delay meant they’d end up as food, or worse—infected, doomed to become zombies themselves.

A dead end.

Behind, ten zombies had already closed in, and more were swarming from every direction.

“Get inside!” Qi Xi made a snap decision, leading everyone into a restaurant. It was filled with zombies, but there was no time to hesitate.

“Block the door! We’ll handle the ones inside!” Qi Xi and the others knocked down the zombies with chairs, while Nan Housheng and the three women slammed the door and braced it shut.

It was a tempered glass door—much sturdier than the one at the previous eatery. The zombies couldn’t break it immediately, but as their numbers grew, they might eventually force it open.

“Give me rope! Rope!” Nan Housheng shouted, sweating and pale, legs shaking, but he fought his fear and held the door with all his might. If it weren’t for him, the door would have been breached already. Perhaps Qi Xi’s scolding the previous day had restored some of his backbone—a man who could take responsibility.

Inside, eight zombies lurched at them. Qi Xi, Watermelon, and Li Feidao focused all their attention on holding them off with chairs and tables, occasionally landing a blow to the head to send a zombie crashing to the ground, unable to rise for some time. Still, with eight to contend with at once, it was a struggle. Were it not for the restaurant’s advantageous layout, they might already have been overwhelmed.

Time was short and the danger mounting.