002: Race with the grim reaper

December 25th, 2016. 8 a.m.

Because it was winter, dawn came later. When Xia Junhuang finally witnessed the arrival of daylight, what greeted her was not a new life, but chaos.

Looking out the window at the chaotic and desolate street outside, she heard the terrified screams and cries of help gradually disappear while she was waiting. Fortunately, these zombies were different from the ones in the movies. They hardly moved during the day and always rested in the shade.

However, it also made her feel sad because at this moment, under the light of day, the beginning of the end of the world was proven.

Xia Junhuang found a simple and neat outfit and put it on. Next, she took out the Swiss army knife that her father had bought at a high price. Gathering all of her supplies, consisting of snacks, bread, fruit, and two bottles of water, she found a backpack and put them inside. Then, she stood in front of the security door of her house. No matter how calm she looked on the surface, her pale face and the trembling hand holding the army knife betrayed her inner turmoil.

If not for the extraordinary stubbornness and determination in her heart, she would have thrown away her armor and hid in the house to wait for death.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. From the peephole, she could see that there was nothing outside. She did not give herself a chance to retreat and twisted open the door. With a piercing sound, Xia Junhuang walked out with the knife readied in her hand.

If someone was in front of her right now, they would probably hear the throbbing of her chest. Her heart was almost jumping out of her mouth.

Because there was no garage, her car was parked at an intersection less than 100 meters away from home. In the past, she had thought it was very close, but now she felt that it was damn far away. It was far enough that she felt as if she was teetering on the line between life and death. If she was lucky, then she would successfully make it into her car. Then, she would have succeeded in the first step. If she was unlucky and was intercepted, then she decided she would raise her knife and end her life.

She had always known that her easy-going, cute, and simple self had a hidden craziness and firmness. Under her apparent calm state of mind, she hid a crazy, adventurous spirit and extreme steadiness. Yes, she was such a contradictory and complicated girl with a double personality.

This race with the grim reaper was a gamble. If she won, she would be one step closer to her goal. If she lost, she would join the souls of the dead under her own knife and become food eaten by the zombies.

She knew that there were many humans hiding in this building. No doubt they were all watching her carefully descend the stairs through their peepholes. Thinking of this, the fear in Xia Junhuang's heart lessened a little. After all, she wasn't the only human in this world. She still had her own kind.

She walked to the first floor step by step without encountering any danger. At that moment, she saw a zombie sleeping against the wall at the entrance of the first floor. Her fear immediately returned, and her heart, which had been slowing down, beat rapidly once more. She didn't realize that her forehead and nose, which had never perspired, were already dripping with sweat.

How strong was her willpower? How stubborn was she to not turn around and run away? She didn't know why her mind went blank, but she rushed up and hacked at the zombie's head like crazy.

However, she regained her reason and sobered up. It was because of the ferocious roar of the zombie. The strong rotten smell assaulted her nose, causing Xia Junhuang's stomach to churn and her throat was to fill with the acrid taste of bile. The rotten and disfigured face was dripping with blood and brain matter that had been cut away by her knife. The neck that had half of its flesh exposed after being bitten off, the ferocious eyes, and the mouth that was filled with saliva and blood matched the zombie's gruesome visage. It made Xia Junhuang want to throw her knife and run away.

However, when she had this thought, another voice appeared in her mind. If she ran away, she would no longer have the courage to step out of that door. If she ran away, she would not be able to accept it.

Finally, Xia Junhuang couldn't bear the heavy burden and pushed away all the distracting thoughts in her mind. She closed her eyes, drew her knife, and hacked at the zombie again. She did this for more than ten times until there were no more terrifying sounds in the corridor. Even then, she didn't have the strength to fall to the ground.

After being stunned for a while, Xia Junhuang suddenly smiled. It was so pale and weak that it made people's hearts ache...

She could be so brave and strong; she could be so desperate. The madness, cruelty, and determination hidden deep in her heart were real. Xia Junhuang realized she was not who she thought she was.

However, she also knew that she was only able to kill the zombie because of her sneak attack. If the zombie was awake, her little strength would be easily overpowered.

Should she be happy for her courage, determination, and good luck? Or should she be sad and desolate?

An ordinary and simple girl actually raised a knife and crazily chopped off the monster's head. How much courage and strength was required to see that horrible and disgusting zombie go crazy?

Perhaps God couldn't bear to see such a strong and brave girl die so early. After she killed that zombie and collapsed on the ground, no more zombies appeared. Ten minutes later, she came back to her senses. She continued to raise her knife and cautiously walked out of the corridor.

At that moment, her heart was already numb. She didn't know whether it was because she was scared or because killing a zombie gave her the courage to continue moving forward. Only her pale, bloodless face betrayed her wounded heart filled with pain and panic.

She hid behind the wall and stuck out her head to look at the road outside. A zombie was lying under a big tree not far away, and two zombies were lying under another tree in front of her. Further ahead was a corner that she couldn't see.

She took another deep breath and made sure that the three zombies wouldn't wake up all of a sudden. Then, she picked up her knife and walked out gently. Every step she took felt like she was on a knife edge. Though the surroundings were silent, sweat from her forehead dripped down her pale face. She could clearly hear her intermittent breathing and the beating of her heart.

Step by step, she carefully walked past the first zombie and walked toward the other two zombies. With each step, she felt suffocated by the feeling of dying. Her short walk took less than ten seconds. However, it felt like dozens of hours had passed.

Nevertheless, no matter how slow she was, it would end eventually, no matter whether the result was good or bad.

However, when she passed the third zombie and felt a sense of relief, she turned around and saw another zombie sleeping in the garbage room. She almost screamed out loud in fright, but she managed to calm the fear in her heart and raised her eyes to look at the road ahead. There were no wandering zombies, and six or seven zombies were sleeping under the trees on both sides.

At this time, she unconsciously let out a sign of relief. She was glad that these zombies were different from the ones in the movies. As long as they weren't disturbed during the day, they wouldn't wake up and attack people.

Her challenge on the road of death began again. This time, she had clearly quickened her pace and progressed much smoother than before. She was only twenty meters away from her car when she suddenly heard a terrified scream. Xia Junhuang's mind instantly went blank. She quickly looked at the two zombies that were beside her, and immediately let out a sigh of relief; fortunately, they hadn't woken up. However, the faint signs of movement made her feel uneasy. Her heart trembled, and she looked back at the source of the sound.

She saw two men and two women running toward her in fear. Behind them were the three zombies that she had passed by earlier. Xia Junhuang immediately ran away. She didn't need to look to know that the two zombies beside her must have been woken up. Sure enough, she had only taken three steps when a terrifying scream came from behind her.