8: Fighting zombies freely and easily

System: "Ding, hungry?"

"Mm."

System: "Go?"

"Go!?"

System: "Ding, I'll take you to find something to eat."

"But Zhang Manyue told me to stay put," Xu Jingzhe said.

System: "Ding, are you working for her?"

"Not really... No."

System: "Ding, hehe... Men, isn't it better to earn your food with your own fists?"

"Nothing beats the taste of a free meal."

System: "Ding, but have you ever considered that the food Zhang Manyue brings back might not be edible for you?"

Xu Jingzhe: "......"

Damn it!

Why does this damn System always have him completely cornered?

System: "Ding, you're cursing me."

"No."

System: "You are."

"Are you a tapeworm in my stomach? I said no."

System: "Yes."

"But it's so high, how do I get down?" Xu Jingzhe changed the subject, not wanting to waste time on this boring argument.

System: "Ding, climb down."

"What if I fall to my death?"

System: "Ding, life and death are in your own hands."

"Is it to change my appearance?"

"Of course."

Xu Jingzhe gritted his teeth. He had worn this mask long enough. He wanted to live openly.

He changed into a new set of clothes and a new mask from his backpack. His chest seemed a little inflamed.

Climbing over the collapsed wall, Xu Jingzhe placed one foot on a brick, moving down to the next level.

He didn't dare to look down; it was too terrifying. If he missed a step, he would be flattened into a meat patty.

One floor.

Two floors.

Three floors.

...

After descending six floors, Xu Jingzhe felt his arms aching and losing strength. He held onto the edge of a shattered window sill with both hands, his feet on a brick, taking deep breaths to maintain his balance.

System: "Ding, why didn't you use the stairs?"

"You! Why didn't you say so earlier!!"

System: "Ding, you didn't ask me. Besides, I'm telling you a shortcut now, why aren't you thanking me?"

Damn it!

Xu Jingzhe was about to die of anger. He entered the room through the window and indeed found a dilapidated concrete staircase extending down to the first floor.

He was a little depressed. Zhang Manyue had stairs but chose parkour instead.

She had misled him.

Arriving downstairs, the solid feeling of his feet on the ground filled his heart.

"Where do I find something to eat?"

System: "Ding, among human facial features, the nose has the most lines and three-dimensionality. Your nose, lying on your face like a dung beetle, is naturally not good-looking."

"The nose is composed of bone and soft tissue. Bone is 70% minerals, 22% organic matter, and the remaining 8% is water."

"First, find a mountain. Mountains have the most minerals, and you might find something you can eat there."

Xu Jingzhe left the high-rise ruins and came to an open space. In the west, he could vaguely see the outline of a mountain, but he didn't know the distance.

"Are you sure you really want to leave? I want to live a few more days."

Xu Jingzhe remembered the zombie dog he encountered yesterday and felt very worried.

System: "Ding, go or don't go. I don't care."

Towards the direction of the mountains, Xu Jingzhe quickened his pace.

Along the way, he witnessed more of the Pollution Zone.

Palm-sized caterpillars with colorful spikes wiggled on black tree trunks, leaving a transparent trail wherever they crawled, quickly attracting fingernail-sized flies.

On the branches, basin-sized spiders were weaving webs. The silk glowed black, and it was thicker than a pinky finger.

"Squeak, squeak..." A group of rats as big as bicycles crawled past. Seeing Xu Jingzhe, they stood on their hind legs, their yellow pupils scrutinizing him. They sniffed the air for a long time before leaving.

The last two rats were still clutching half of a rotting snake in their claws.

...

The further Xu Jingzhe walked, the more afraid he became. To survive in the Pollution Zone, there was only one path: become stronger.

"Huh, what's that sound?" Xu Jingzhe stopped, pricking up his ears to listen carefully.

Behind him, he faintly heard 'hungry' 'hungry' sounds.

But each 'hungry' was drawn out very long.

"Hungry..." "Hungry..."

He turned to look, scared out of his wits.

Zombies!

Living zombies, exactly like those in movies.

Indeed, art comes from life and transcends life.

Three zombies, each with a different appearance. But what they had in common was that their faces and bodies were so rotten that they were unrecognizable, with teeth exposed. One eyeball hung down by its mouth, one had a broken arm, and more than half of its head was sliced off, its brain empty.

The last one was the most absurd; its neck and head were connected by only a layer of skin. It walked in jerks, its head also jerking, like a glitch.

"Hungry....."

"Hungry....."

Xu Jingzhe wanted to cry, but had no tears. They were hungry, and he was hungry too.

Couldn't they just go their separate ways?

Without hesitation, Xu Jingzhe turned and ran, looking back as he ran.

Five minutes later, Xu Jingzhe returned.

He noticed one thing: human zombies were different from zombie dogs.

Human zombies walked very slowly, dragging their feet, limping. They could only cover about fifty meters per minute at most.

So, a very curious Xu Jingzhe came back, holding a stone in his hand.

He tossed it in his hand, then suddenly threw it at one of the zombies. "Thud!" The stone hit the zombie's empty eye socket.

The zombie didn't react at all, still walking slowly.

It kept making 'hungry...' 'hungry...' sounds.

"Hehe..." It felt very stress-relieving, releasing the pressure in his heart.

Xu Jingzhe found a slope and collected many stones, piling them up. He then moved a large stone over and sat on it.

"What a shame, it's almost there. If only I could have a cold cola and some fried chicken right now, eating and drinking while fighting zombies, now that would be interesting!"

"Thud!"

"Hit!"

"Yay, another hit."

"Oh wow, three points! Right in the chest."

"Sigh, I missed even though they're so slow. I need more practice."

After throwing the first batch of small stones, Xu Jingzhe felt relaxed. He stood up and bounced around, then stretched, making an 'Mm-oh~' lewd sound.

Xu Jingzhe, completely absorbed in his play, didn't know that danger was quietly approaching.

He picked up another twenty or so stones and lined them up.

Xu Jingzhe retreated to a distance, took a running start, and kicked!

The small stone spun rapidly under his foot, hitting the zombie squarely in the face.

"Holy crap, if I kicked like that in the World Cup, it would definitely be a goal!"

"My value would skyrocket! Sea cucumbers, wives, big villas, none could be missing."

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

All twenty stones hit the zombies' foreheads.

Xu Jingzhe was sweating from playing. He was a little puzzled, football isn't that hard, is it?

Such a big goal, such a small football.

Why couldn't a certain country, with over a billion people a hundred years ago, gather thirteen people to play football?

Strange, strange.