Chapter 035 A Leap of Despair
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Zheng Xinyu gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Now that the tension had passed, she noticed the ground beneath her feet—littered with bloody entrails and mangled organs. A foul, metallic stench filled her nose, making her stomach churn. Unable to hold it back, she bent over and vomited.
“Xinyu-jie… are you okay?”
Zhong Xiaoshan was startled by Zheng Xinyu’s sudden retching. She quickly sidestepped to avoid the splatter and gently patted Zheng Xinyu’s back. “Don’t look at the ground. Try thinking about something delicious instead—it’ll pass soon!”
“Something… delicious…”
Zhang Su thought to himself,
He lit another cigarette, took a drag, then closed the door before holding the cigarette out to Zheng Xinyu. “Take a puff—it’ll help.”
Zheng Xinyu, who was already crying and sniffling, took the cigarette and inhaled deeply. The harsh smoke burned her throat, making her cough violently, but the nausea subsided almost instantly.
“T-There’s… another one!”
Just then, Zhong Xiaoshan pointed toward the living room, her voice tense.
A zombie, or rather, what was left of one, was crawling toward them. Most of its torso was missing—everything below the ribcage was gone. Using only its arms, it dragged itself forward with difficulty, but its mouth still clacked hungrily, its jagged teeth gnashing together, unwilling to give up on its craving for fresh flesh.
Zheng Xinyu, who had just barely gotten her nausea under control, took one look at the horrific sight and immediately dry-heaved. The cigarette was useless this time. She hunched over and retched, but there was nothing left to throw up—only bitter stomach acid.
Zhang Su patted her trembling shoulder. This was something she’d have to overcome on her own. Then, without another word, he picked up his hand axe and walked over to finish off the zombie.
After dealing with the two corpses, the three of them stepped into the living room. Unlike a typical home, the space was set up more like an office—two rows of desks facing each other, with a total of six computers.
“So this was an e-commerce customer service office… I didn’t even know people were working upstairs,” Zheng Xinyu murmured, her voice still nasal from the aftermath of vomiting. She picked up a booklet from one of the desks and flipped through it, confirming that the place belonged to an online business.
Zhang Su shook his head as he walked out of the kitchen, shaking his empty hands. “Nothing at all.”
“This company probably just started, or maybe they moved in recently. The bedrooms are filled with empty shelves and packaging boxes. The only useful things are these zip ties and rolls of tape,” Zhong Xiaoshan added, looking equally disappointed as she walked out of one of the rooms. She shook a small box in her hands, revealing over a dozen rolls of tape and a bunch of plastic zip ties.
“Let’s check the desks. There might be something useful,” Zhang Su suggested, already opening drawers.
But just as he started searching, a sudden scream rang out from outside the window. A dark figure flashed past, followed by a desperate wail that faded rapidly as it plummeted downward.
“What was that!?”
The three of them froze in shock and rushed to the window. What they saw made their hearts sink.
“No… it can’t be…”
Zheng Xinyu’s face twitched, and she pointed toward the upper floors.
Zhang Su frowned as he looked at the pool of fresh blood radiating outward from the body’s impact point. With a sigh, he muttered, “It must be the guy from 1201… In just a short while, he…”
A complicated feeling settled in his chest. Just moments ago, this neighbor had generously shared his food with them. Now, he was nothing but a mangled corpse.
Kindness might seem foolish in times like these, but it was still a rare and admirable quality.
Zhang Su knew he would never be a kind person himself, but he still had respect for those who were.
Zhong Xiaoshan covered her mouth, shaking her head. “Why jump? Isn’t living better? Why end it like this?”
No matter how difficult things got, she believed life was worth holding onto. As long as one was alive, there was always hope. She just couldn’t understand those who chose to give up.
“Could it be… because of what we said? About how the outside world is completely ruined? Maybe that’s why… His scream just now sounded so full of despair,” Zheng Xinyu said softly, her lips tinged with sadness.
In the three days since the zombie outbreak, many had chosen to end their own lives. Some did it out of hopelessness, while others had their own reasons.
“There are some kinds of pain you’ll never understand unless you experience them yourself. His choice had nothing to do with us… Look at the body beside him. That must’ve been a family member who was already infected,” Zhang Su remarked, pulling back from the window. He had no intention of watching this tragedy any longer.
But just as he retracted his gaze, something flickered in the corner of his vision—a shadow moving unnaturally!
In a residential complex filled with zombies, the sight of a living person was an anomaly. Even if it was just a fleeting glimpse, Zhang Su was certain—he had seen someone alive!
“Hm?”
A frown crept onto his face as he scanned the area again. Soon, his eyes locked onto a target—someone was lurking near the eastern side of Building 4!
Because of the way the buildings were constructed, likely to prevent moisture damage, the ground-floor balconies weren’t directly connected to the ground. Instead, there was a 40-centimeter gap beneath them—often a hiding spot for stray cats, or a perfect place for kids playing hide-and-seek.
And now, Zhang Su saw someone hiding underneath one of these balconies!
“Su-ge, what are you looking at?”
Zheng Xinyu noticed the sharp focus in his eyes—it was different from when he had looked at the dead body.
“There’s someone over there!” Zhang Su pointed toward the east side. “Look at the lowest part—someone’s hiding under the balcony!”
Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan followed his gaze, but after a moment, they both turned to him with skeptical expressions.
“He’s gone,” Zhang Su insisted, pointing downstairs. “I swear, I saw someone poking their head out! A hundred percent!”
The two girls exchanged glances, seeming to reach a silent agreement.
“Uh-huh… sure, there was someone,” Zheng Xinyu responded, humoring him.
“Yeah, yeah… definitely,” Zhong Xiaoshan nodded along.
Zhang Su, sharp as ever, immediately saw through their act. He frowned. “I see someone! Why don’t you believe me…? Whatever. Even if there is someone, it doesn’t matter.”
With a shrug, he turned back to the desks, dropping the subject. Whether there was someone or not wasn’t the real issue—what annoyed him was that they didn’t believe him.
Soon, the three of them finished searching the office. The haul was surprisingly good—way better than what they got from the old couple’s place.
They found a whole box of Snickers bars—enough to last them several meals. It was perfect since it didn’t need cooking, and the high sugar and fat content would keep them energized.
Alongside that, they also collected a stash of office snacks—potato chips, dried mango, nuts…
But the biggest jackpot wasn’t the snacks—it was water.
Four full cases of bottled water. Nearly 100 bottles—about 60 liters in total.
That meant 20 liters per person—enough to last them ten days if they rationed carefully.
“We hit the jackpot!” Zhang Su grinned, grabbing a bottle and dramatically kissing it before twisting it open and chugging a mouthful. Then, without hesitation, he stuffed as many bottles into his bag as he could.
They had plenty of drinks in their supplies, but pure water was rare. Most of what they had was soda and beer. This water was an invaluable find.