Searching Nearby Villas

"Roar!~~~"

"Errr!~~ Errr!~~"

"Heh heh heh!~~ Heh heh heh~~~"

Hearing these sounds, several other nearby zombies began to converge.

Watching the dozen or so zombies gradually closing in, Seth recalled the long-handled machetes he had seen on a variety show. These machetes, with blade and handle of equal length, could be over two meters long. Incredibly sharp, they were capable of both slashing and stabbing. A warhorse could be decapitated with a single swing of such a machete!

Seth had seen the power of these long-handled machetes on an American variety show. A strong man wielding one could cleave five adult pigs in half with a single, full-force swing!

With such a weapon, the dozen zombies before him could be easily dispatched without much effort.

Thinking this, Seth swiftly dodged and swung his machete, slicing the nearest zombie's head in two. Blood and brain matter spurted out as the zombie fell heavily to the ground. A blob of milky energy was quickly absorbed into Seth's body.

Utilizing his agility, Seth killed the zombies one by one, dodging back and forth across the front yard's grass. Soon, all the zombies in the yard were eliminated.

Stepping out of the iron gate, under the blazing sun, the town's concrete roads were a picture of devastation. Zombies' bodies lay haphazardly, and the not-so-wide two-lane road was blocked by vehicles hastily abandoned during the apocalypse. Dozens of cars were parked, creating a gruesome accident scene.

This was just the suburbs, and Seth could only imagine the horror that the city center must have faced!

Several zombies were wandering back and forth between the gaps of the cars, seemingly in search of prey.

Seth didn't approach the road but walked towards the estate on the relatively spacious sidewalk.

There were many small villas similar to the one Seth originally lived in, located alongside the road. From Nicole's villa to the estate was about a hundred meters, with seven or eight villas in between.

Previously, due to time constraints and taking a shortcut, Seth didn't have the opportunity to observe these villas. Now, with enough time on his hands, he decided to thoroughly search these villas for any other survivors or useful resources.

However, to Seth's disappointment, after searching through three villas, he didn't find anything of value. All three were essentially empty, with no survivors or food. He did find some clothes and dollars, but these items were practically useless in the post-apocalyptic world.

It wasn't until he reached the fourth villa that he finally found a pump-action shotgun. The owner of the shotgun was a strong male, dressed in a U.S. Air Force uniform. When Seth found him, the man's body had already started to decompose, emitting a faint stench. Bite marks were visible on the man's arm.

Judging by the condition of the corpse, the man had probably died two or three days ago.

It was conceivable that the man had taken his own life with the gun after being bitten by a zombie. The man's head, shot at close range in the mouth, had exploded like a watermelon under the immense impact, scattering blood, flesh, and brain matter around.

Seth picked up the pump-action shotgun and checked it; there were three shells inside. The name "Mark Alba" was engraved on the gun. This type of shotgun fired large-caliber buckshot, with a diameter of about 18.4 millimeters. Its power was immense, capable of inflicting damage on a large area at close range. However, the gun had low accuracy and produced a loud noise, making it less effective in a post-apocalyptic environment like this. Nonetheless, it was still a gun.

Seth stored the shotgun in the space cube and searched the house, but found no other ammunition. However, he did find a dagger on the man's body and a photograph in his hand.

The photo showed three people in a family portrait, with an airplane in the background. They looked very happy and content. The man in the picture, judging by his physique, appeared to be the same man who lay dead before Seth.

The woman in the photo was an attractive and beautiful young woman, radiating happiness. Between the two adults was a girl, seemingly eight or nine years old. The girl had golden wavy long hair, large enchanting eyes, a prominent nose, and a unique mixed-race charm that made her look incredibly cute.

Upon seeing the girl's photo, Seth felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It seemed that Seth had seen this young girl somewhere before, but he couldn't recall the specifics.

Putting the photo back into the man's embrace, Seth shook his head silently and continued towards the next villa.

"Hmm?!" The fourth villa was drastically different from the others Seth had searched. To his surprise, he found that the iron gate of this villa was securely locked. Moreover, looking from the outside, the villa's windows seemed to be nailed shut with various items, and all the curtains were tightly drawn. It appeared that there might be someone inside this villa, a discovery that pleasantly surprised Seth.

Checking his watch, it was 11:18 a.m., midday, and there was still plenty of time. Under the blazing sun, the zombies on the street either retreated into the woods or hid motionlessly under cars, only slowly emerging as Seth passed by.

After decapitating a few nearby zombies, Seth surveyed the surrounding area. Once he confirmed it was safe, he decided to go in and have a look.

Determining his plan, Seth found a suitable spot to climb and carefully scaled the fence of the villa's front yard. The wall wasn't very high, about two meters, and Seth easily climbed over it using the momentum. This height was more than enough to keep out the zombies, which couldn't climb.

The front yard was clean, showing no signs of zombies having entered, nor were there any remnants of flesh and blood. It seemed that this family was very fortunate when the apocalypse hit; none of them turned into zombies, and they wisely chose not to flee blindly.

Additionally, Seth noticed some fresh signs of soil disturbance in the front yard.

Many of the bark strips had been peeled off from a fruit tree in the front yard. From these signs, it was evident that there were definitely people hiding inside this villa. Moreover, those inside must have reached the end of their rope, completely out of supplies. Otherwise, they wouldn't resort to digging up roots and eating tree bark.

Storing his machete in the space cube and taking out the shotgun, Seth cautiously approached the main entrance of the villa. In such an apocalyptic world, humans are always more dangerous than zombies. If there were indeed survivors inside, Seth couldn't be sure of their intentions towards him.

Without any moral or legal constraints, coupled with the constant threat of death and the extreme scarcity of resources, the apocalypse is an environment that magnifies the darkest aspects of human nature. The trust system between people has collapsed.

In such a scenario, anyone can be extremely dangerous and ruthless. The survivors inside might, without hesitation, attack Seth to plunder his supplies or to protect their own family. This is the United States, where it's legal to own firearms. If the person inside had a gun and caught Seth off guard, a single shot could be fatal.

Therefore, Seth had to be extremely cautious.

Just as Seth was about to approach the villa's main entrance, the curtains on the second floor suddenly moved.