After that disastrous conversation, Bao was finally ready to leave. Dressed in a loose T-shirt and loose pants that came down to his feet, he looked almost like he was swimming in his clothes. Grumbling under his breath, Zixin helped cut the long hem off.
"Why? I liked it like that..." the man pouted.
"Don't want you tripping and being a zombie feast," he mumbled as he tore out the last leg. "Come on, get anything you need from here and we are gone." He rushed to the window and moved the curtain aside slightly to look outside.
Bao only took a few edible snack items in his hands. "How do you suppose we leave? We are completely surrounded by zombies... Even though they are very silent now, I can still sense them outside."
The zombies outside were just standing still, with drool and blood hanging from their mouths. They didn't look like they were sleeping. Rather, they looked like they were... waiting. Waiting for their prey.
"You can sense them?" He gazed back curiously.
"Yeah, I can feel their vibrations from the floor," Bao said, poking his tongue out into the air. "There are about fifty level-one zombies outside."
"Fifty, you say..." That number was too much for him to handle on his own. Plus, with this new deadweight with him, he couldn't outrun them. If he got swamped, then it was game over for the both of them.
Frowning, he rushed to the kitchen and found a few more knives. He quickly tied them to the end of the curtain rod that he had hastily carried in his bag and handed it to the guy. "Kill as much as you can."
Bao just curiously peered at the DIY staff. "This can only kill level-one zombies. More than that and I'm toast."
"You have so much mana. Can't you use it to kill some?" Zixin busily stashed a few more knives into his belt, just in case he lost his weapon.
"But I don't know how to use it?"
Zixin paused. "You don't know how to use it?"
"Yeah. I'm just a baby snake. How can I know how to use my powers? Usually, my summoner teaches me." He smiled.
Zixin did his best not to roll his eyes. This guy was totally useless. Just a pretty little thing. If this guy was not bonded to his soul, he would have happily left him right here and gone off.
"Move as quietly as you can," he whispered finally before he went to the door. Peeking through the peephole, he saw three zombies loitering outside the apartment. One of them, though, was different.
The guy zombie, dressed in a flannel and on all fours, was moving quite erratically, sniffing all the doors. Crawling up to their door, the zombie sniffed loudly while letting out grunting sounds.
Suddenly, it froze.
Letting out a loud growl, the zombie slammed into the door.
'Fuck. That thing sensed us.'
They needed to move now!
Just as the zombie moved back to slam into the door again, Zixin threw it open and swung the mop head with all his strength. The blood-soaked wood, sharpened by the level-three zombie blood, was much deadlier than a kitchen knife. It tore into the zombie's head with a sickening crack, splitting through bone and flesh before leaving the creature collapsing to the floor.
{Defeated a level 1 zombie}
The other two zombies heard the commotion and came running, their mouths wide open as they charged toward them.
Zixin didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward and drove the sharpened end of the weapon straight through one zombie's open mouth. Before the second could reach him, he hooked the mop around its legs and yanked hard.
The zombie crashed to the ground.
{Defeated a level 1 zombie}
Zixin immediately brought the weapon down.
Thud!
The sharpened end pierced straight through its skull, pinning it to the floor.
{Defeated a level 1 zombie}
Gazing back, he saw the guy still standing there, hugging his homemade weapon in his hands.
"What are you doing there? Come on!"
"Yep." Bao happily jumped over the corpse by the door. "You have to teach me how to do that... You kill so easily. Did you do that for a living...?" he whispered, following closely behind him.
"Shh!" Zixin threw open the door to the complex and rushed out.
The zombies that had been standing in frozen mode instantly woke up.
Their bloodshot eyes snapped toward them, sap oozing from their mouths as their heads jerked in their direction. A series of guttural, primal growls erupted through the street.
Then they charged.
Dozens of hungry bodies rushed toward them all at once.
"Fuck!"
Zixin swung his weapon immediately, taking down the few zombies closest to him. He didn't stop to check whether they were dead. He simply kicked one aside, hacked another across the head, and rushed to the right, pulling the guy along behind him.
{Defeated a level 1 zombie}
{Defeated a level 1 zombie}
"Where are we going?" Bao whispered as he was being dragged around like a doll.
"The metro!"
Zixin took a left into one of the service alleyways. The pathway was narrow, with a huge trash can blocking most of the way. He quickly shoved it toward the center and pulled the guy close.
"You need to be quiet!"
"Okay. I was just curious." Bao whispered, holding the curtain rod tightly. "Which way...?"
"I saw a metro entrance just a few streets away."
Zixin quickly pulled him out the other side of the alleyway.
Right then, a zombie with its stomach torn open staggered into their path, blocking the entrance to the alley. Its blood-soaked mouth hung open as it lunged toward them.
Zixin reacted instantly.
He drove his weapon into its head, shoved the corpse out of the way, and grabbed Bao, pulling him forward.
His heart was pounding loudly in his chest.
The streets were filled...
Panic filled his eyes as he searched the streets. Everywhere he looked, zombies were wandering between the abandoned cars and buildings. The sound of their growls echoed through the streets, getting louder as more of them noticed the two fleeing figures.
Then he saw it.
The familiar metro sign stood in the right corner.
He didn't think.
He grabbed Bao and ran.
It was so close, but so far at the same time.
Zixin killed left and right without any distinction. His weapon swung again and again, striking anything that came close enough to stop him.
Multiple dings rang out in his ears.
As soon as he reached the steps, he quickly let go of the guy's hand and turned around. Several zombies had already followed them to the entrance.
"Follow me close!" he shouted as he killed a zombie that lunged toward him.
"Yep..."
Bao clumsily jumped over a corpse as he ran down the stairs.
Zixin followed right behind him, his breathing becoming heavier with every step.
He was relieved that the concourse was not crowded. Since the meteor had come down so early in the morning, not many people had been around in the metro station.
That was their luck.
Though the underground paths, he could make it to the outskirts of the city.
His brain ran a mile as he tried to formulate a path to his hometown.
If they could just get through the station... If they could reach the outskirts... He could figure out the rest later.
But as he came down to the platform, he froze.
His entire body went still.
Hundreds of zombies dressed in suits stood across the platform.
And every single one of them was looking their way.
"Fuck..." Zixin swallowed hard.
"We are so dead..." Bao whispered softly.