Chapter 71: Ready for the upcoming fight...

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Ready for the upcoming fight...

Liora listened intently. The voices inside weren’t panicked or surprised. That meant whoever was in there had likely made this their home. Maybe permanent. Maybe temporary. Either way, they couldn’t afford a confrontation.

Liora gave a silent signal, and they all turned and dashed across the lane, hurriedly getting inside their Hummer.

Another villa stood a little farther away, similar in size but with its gate left wide open. It looked slightly more damaged than the last one. Vines had started to grow along its walls. One of the windows was shattered. But still better than most of the houses here.

They quietly slipped inside quickly. The first floor was dark, filled with overturned furniture and dust. Then came the sound of the zombies, which they were waiting for.

Grhhhhhh... Mahhnnnn..

They visibly relaxed at the zombies’ groan because it meant that at least this house was not taken.

Three of them stumbled out from the hallway—two level 1 Rotters and one level 2 Mutant. Their hollow eyes were pointed towards them, and their jaws were twitching with hunger and the fresh smell of humans.

"I’ll take care of the level 2," Liora said calmly.

Chen Wei grinned and tightened his grip on the metal staff in his hand. "I’ll help."



With a short dash, Liora met the zombie head-on. Her blade sliced cleanly through its shoulder. The zombie shrieked and lunged, but Chen Wei moved in from the side, smashing his weapon into its skull. A few clean blows later, the level 2 zombie collapsed on the floor, twitching, before lying still for eternity.

A small dull crystal rolled out of its cracked head.

Chen Wei’s eyes lit up. "That’s a level 1 crystal," he said excitedly. "It’s real. I actually did it."

Zhou Yinuo and Liang Zihan handled the other two. Even without powers, their coordination was sharp. Zhou Yinuo took the lead while Liang Zihan distracted from the side. It wasn’t easy, but they managed. After all, they had also survived the apocalypse for a year.

Dealing with one or two zombies wasn’t much of a problem. The real trouble began when they had to face an entire horde. That’s why they decided to grow stronger. After all, what if the heavens never granted them powers? Even so, they still had their will to survive and no one could take that away from them.

Once the last body fell, the house grew quiet again.

"Let’s clear the area to stay here for tonight," Liora said with a calm expression. After all, they had to hurriedly eat and rest before the zombies started getting outside and reaching here.

They began cleaning the ground floor, dragging out the zombie bodies and making sure all the doors were locked tight aside from the main one, so they did not have to face a sneak attack. Then they secured the windows with whatever furniture they could move.

Liora even parked her Hummer inside the villa. It was not that hard because the house had a big door. She would definitely not leave her Hummer outside for fear of it being stolen.

Finally, they cleared out a living room space, laying down blankets and making a spot to rest. Liora carried the boy inside and laid him on a clean couch, covering him again.

He still didn’t wake up. But he looked peaceful, warm, and safe. A small smile appeared on her face as she gazed at him.

"Let’s eat something to fill our stomachs first. We didn’t have time when we were all surrounded by zombies."

All of them nodded and cooked a simple meal to fill their stomachs. Soon, the outside area completely darkened without a speck of light.

There was no moon to lighten the dark streets of the apocalypse world. It was pitch black.

You could not even spot anything from a distance. That’s why all people preferred staying close and still at night.

Soon, they started hearing the shouts and growls of zombies from the nearby area.

The moment darkness swallowed the world outside, Liora’s mind started moving.

"We will light fires on every corner, window, balcony, everywhere," she ordered in a low but steady voice. It’s a must or they would not even be able to see what was coming for them.

Without wasting a second, they all split up. Chen Wei grabbed a metal bowl and threw in scraps of cloth and dry wood. Zhou Yinuo lit matches and tossed them in.

One by one, orange flames flickered to life—at the edges of the living room, near the balcony railing, and around the main hallway. The flickering fire pushed the shadows back just enough, letting them see the street outside and anything coming close.

The entrance and outer living room had been cleared. They turned that part into a kill zone. Chairs and tables had been stacked along the inner door behind them, blocking access to the sleeping area where the boy was sleeping.



They dared not let anything get past them.

The night wind started howling as more and more zombie growls echoed in the distance.

A cold gust pushed through a broken window, making the flames shudder as if they also feared what was coming for them.

Grrraaaaahhh...!

Mrrrhhhhh...

Zombies.

Not just one, not two but a wave. They could not even look past them, all they could see was endless zombies. Just where they all came from, no one knew, when it was so quiet just a few moments ago.

The first ones slammed into the iron gate. Their clawed fingers scratched and beat the frame to break it apart and eat their prey. The sound was sharp and endless like nails on metal.

"They’re coming in," Chen Wei said with a serious face. It was also his first time facing a zombie horde directly. He had never waited just to fight zombies. It would be a lie to say that he did not feel nervous.

Liora stepped forward with her sword gleaming in the firelight. "Then we will kill them all."