Chapter Eleven: In Search of Supplies

“Ah—!”

A hysterical scream echoed once more through the corridor.

Lin Dong used his dagger to slice open Xu Shan’s chest, shattering her ribs, so that her heart could be seen beating furiously within. Then with a twist of the blade, he gouged out the entire heart.

Blood gushed forth in torrents, dripping incessantly, making the nearby Tank drool with hunger.

Xu Shan was already dead, her eyes wide open, still reflecting the terror and despair of her final moments.

“So filthy...” Lin Dong skewered the heart on his dagger, resembling a grotesque lollipop. Disgusted, he had no intention of eating it; instead, he tossed it to Tank.

Tank devoured it greedily, stuffing the heart into his monstrous mouth and swallowing it whole, barely tasting it.

“Wuu wuu wuu~~~” The only remaining boy in the hallway sobbed uncontrollably, unable to process the horror before him, which had shattered the limits of human endurance.

The female zombie beside him, amused by his tears, let out a chilling, cackling laugh.

Perhaps she found it entertaining, or maybe wanted to comfort him, telling him that today was a good day, and there was no need to cry.

With no warning, her sharp nails plunged into his neck, severing his artery.

His cries ended abruptly, and silence settled over the corridor.

But soon enough, the sounds of gnawing and flesh being torn apart resumed.

The zombies began their bloody feast.

After killing these people, Lin Dong felt a surge of satisfaction. Suddenly, he remembered the school cafeteria might still hold supplies.

There was a cold storage room there, used for storing fresh meat. Since he was already here, he ought to collect more.

He led his three followers out of the dormitory building, crossed the playground, and arrived at the cafeteria.

Lin Dong noticed that the zombies were far more densely gathered here. Especially at the entrance, four or five zombies pounded on the glass door, as if drawn by something inside, desperate to get in.

The glass was smeared with bloody handprints, forming a crimson blur.

“Could there be survivors inside?” Lin Dong analyzed silently.

However, these zombies were exceedingly stupid; the glass door opened outward, but they only pushed and crowded inward, unable to open it.

Finding the zombies a nuisance, Lin Dong ordered Tank to clear the way.

“Roar—”

Tank let out a low growl and charged forward, grabbing a zombie and smashing it against the wall.

With a sickening splat, the zombie nearly flattened, sliding down and leaving streaks of blood behind.

The rest were thrown aside by Tank as well. Though they growled, they were clearly terrified of him and retreated without daring to attack.

Tank’s intelligence was not much greater than theirs. He also tried to push the glass door inward.

But his brute strength was overwhelming. With a resounding crack, the glass shattered, and even the door frame was warped.

Clearly, when faced with absolute strength, technique was irrelevant.

Lin Dong stepped into the cafeteria. The first-floor hall was eerily quiet, but the air reeked of decay.

A few corpses lay on the floor, zombies whose heads had been blown apart. Their blood had dried into dark purple stains.

Clearly, they had been killed by human survivors.

Since the apocalypse broke out around nine in the morning, the cafeteria wasn’t at peak hours, so not many people were here—making it less dangerous.

If there were survivors, they would surely be gathered in the storeroom, where there was enough food to sustain them.

Lin Dong headed directly for the storeroom.

Soon, he came upon a double iron door, firmly shut. He pushed it, but it didn’t budge—locked tight.

Faint whispers could be heard from within.

Though the voices were weak, Lin Dong’s sharp hearing caught every word.

“Oh no, I think zombies are coming! What should we do?” a girl said in terror.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you,” a boy reassured her, holding her in his arms.

But the girl remained anxious.

“Maybe... we should hurry and escape.”

“Hmph! If you two want to leave, hurry up. Staying here just wastes food!” a middle-aged man in a chef’s uniform said disdainfully.

The boy frowned, wanting to retort, but seeing the chef holding a boning knife, he thought better of it.

There were five people hiding in the storeroom: besides the chef and the young couple, there were two other girls.

Having heard the attempt to open the door, both girls were filled with dread.

One of them was strikingly beautiful, her lips pressed tightly together. She was Su Xiaorou, formerly a warehouse clerk at Lin Dong’s supermarket.

Her family was poor, so she worked while studying. After Lin Dong fired her, she took up a similar job in the school cafeteria.

With her looks, she was never short of admirers and could easily find a boyfriend to provide for her.

But she was fiercely independent.

“Zombies... shouldn’t be able to get in, right?” Su Xiaorou asked in a trembling voice.

“Mm,”

The chef nodded, “Those zombies are so stupid—they couldn’t even get in through the glass doors outside, let alone this locked storeroom. They won’t be able to open it.”

Everyone felt this made sense and were slightly comforted.

But just then—

With a thunderous clang, a huge fist imprint appeared on the solid iron door, each finger clearly outlined, testifying to immense power.

Such brute work naturally fell to Tank. He swung his massive fists again, smashing the door.

The entire door rattled, dust raining down, the metal panel dented with another handprint.

The five people inside were dumbstruck.

“What... what is that?”

“No idea, maybe the zombies mutated?”

“What? Quick, run!”

“........”

Seeing the door couldn’t hold, the five stumbled along the inner corridor toward the small cold storage at the end.

But before they got far, Tank punched again, and with a sharp crack, half the iron door was smashed apart.

His hulking body squeezed through.

“My God!”

The group glanced back, instantly overwhelmed by the sight—a zombie of such strength they’d never imagined, their hearts chilled with fear.

The chef, boning knife in hand, ran fastest, reaching the cold storage first.

“Quick, get in, the zombie’s coming!”

A chilling, cackling laugh echoed in the dim corridor, like a vengeful spirit.

The chef focused and saw, behind Tank, a gaunt figure racing forward, hands clawed, moving with startling speed.

At that moment, the boy from the couple arrived second, diving into the cold storage.

But his girlfriend and Su Xiaorou were at the rear.

“Honey, wait for me!” the girlfriend cried anxiously.

But the boy saw the terrifying female zombie closing fast behind her—there wasn’t enough time.

“Close the door!”

With grim resolve, as the third girl ran in, the three inside joined forces, pushing the cold storage door shut...