Chapter 38.4

Li Xinwen could see the hesitation on their face. They looked at Li Xinwen, then at the zombie that is approaching them. If they dallied more, they might end up in a more precarious situation. In the end, one of them steeled his heart and approached the dagger on the floor.

He held it tightly in his hand and carefully walked over to the zombie. The zombie could smell his food getting closer and raised his hands up, trying to grab his meal. Seeing this, the man jumped in fright and took several steps back, even dropping the dagger onto the floor.

"You idiot!" a female staff member scolded him. "Hurry and pick that dagger up!"

"B-but…" the man hesitated. After all, the place where the dagger was dropped is very close to the zombie now. If he were to go and grab it, the zombie would surely be able to grab him and even eat him. Watching this, Li Xinwen could no longer hold himself back.

"The zombie can't think. As long as you all work together, you can kill this zombie easily," Li Xinwen told them. "Since he already made someone a target, then the others should try to get around the zombie and attack him from behind."

"But… the dagger is so close to the zombie. How can we kill him?"

Li Xinwen could feel his headache coming and he massaged his temple. 'Are you guys spoiled? I just told you that if you work together you can kill this zombie so use your head!'

"I've already said before. Work together. You," Li Xinwen pointed at the man who were being approached by the zombie. "Lure that zombie away from the dagger."

"O-Okay…" the man was still scared from earlier, but he still listened to Li Xinwen's instruction. Slowly, the zombie was lured away by the man and soon, the dagger was free to be taken.

Someone tried to rush over to grab the dagger, but was quickly stopped by Li Xinwen's word. "Wait! The zombie is still too close. Everyone remember this well. At the beginning, zombies' only have their sense of smell. An hour after their death, they will be able to hear and they can only see as far as their hand could touch but their sense of smell will be superior. So when you approach them, be sure you are ready to kill them in one move. A moment of hesitation would turn you into a prey instead," Li Xinwen informed them.

Once the zombie was about two meters away from the dagger, Li Xinwen signalled for the guy who wanted to rush to the dagger to proceed. The guy ran, quickly picked up the dagger on the floor and as soon as the zombie was within reach, he raised the dagger up and stabbed the zombie on the back of his head. The zombie paused in his movement before finally falling to the ground with the dagger still stuck on its head.

"Hurry and pull the dagger out," Li Xinwen who saw this couldn't help but voice out.

"Why?" the man who stabbed the zombie asked.

"Because if you don't, it'll be harder to pull out," Li Xinwen stated. 

The man didn't seem to believe him, but he still bent down to pull the dagger out. Or at least, he attempted to. When he grabbed the handle and pulled, the zombie head also followed suit. Frowning, he tried again but failed. He even placed his foot to keep the head in place before pulling the dagger, only to find that the dagger was stuck in place.

"This is also something that everyone should keep in mind. If you're using a dagger that lacked grooves or serrations, you need to be quick in your motion. Stab and immediately pull out," Li Xinwen said as he approached the man and the zombie. Seeing Li Xinwen coming closer, the man stepped back and watched as the actor bent down to grab the handle of the dagger. With a sharp jerking motion, the dagger came loose and Li Xinwen pulled it out.

"Umm… Teacher Li, what is grooves and serrations?" the man who used the dagger earlier asked.

"Grooves are indents on the body of the blade. It was said to help slightly with the suctions so that when you pull out the dagger, it won't be as hard. Serrations are the jagged edge on a blade," Li Xinwen explained. "Of course, even with the grooves, if the dagger is stuck on a skull for too long, it will still be hard to pull out."

"Oh, I see. Teacher Li could easily pull the dagger out earlier. I did not know that you are this strong," the man said with a sheepish smile.

Li Xinwen eyed the man carefully. He was wearing a jacket, a hat and a jean. His body was larger than Li Xinwen and it could be seen that he have a strong muscle underneath that outfit. Li Xinwen tried to recall this man's identity and found out that this person was one of the camera director. Considering that he managed to pierce through the zombie's skull, his strength can be said to be considerable. "I'll give this dagger to you. Remember my advice from before," Li Xinwen told him.

After saying that he turned to the rest of the crew. "Everyone, if you want to follow me out, all I ask is that you don't pull down my legs. As for the three of you," he glanced at the three people who were injured by the zombie earlier. "You're free to follow but don't expect me to protect you. Now before we go out, go and pick something that can be used as weapon. Preferably something long and sturdy. I think there should be a few metal pole in this studio, am I right, director?"

The director nods his head affirmatively. He told Li Xinwen where it should be stored and Li Xinwen in return, told the rest to quickly grab a weapon. The staff moved, including those who were injured. It seems that people still don't believe Li Xinwen that the small injuries would make them into a zombie.

'Actually, not everyone who got injured by zombie would turn into one. According to Hua-jie, some lucky ones would end up awakening an ability. But it requires a strong will power…' he thought to himself.

"Xiao Wen, what are you going to do? You gave your dagger away to that camera director over there," An Yunxu came over and asked Li Xinwen. His tone appeared to be worried but Li Xinwen could see that the other have another agenda up his sleeves.

"I will be fine, Senior An. You should go and join the other to grab a weapon for yourself," Li Xinwen advised.

"But I'm an actor… I need to take care of my image. What if I get injured while—"

"If you don't want to, then I can't force you. But if you think that you will still have a job as an actor after today, then please forgive this junior's callousness. As I have said, this is reality now. Once we go through that door, let alone being an actor, if you can't defend yourself you may even lose your life," Li Xinwen informed him.

"…"

In the end, An Yunxu went over to join the others in finding something to use as a weapon. Another ten minutes passed, and Li Xinwen glanced at his phone once again. Just as before, he still couldn't send a message to the group, and the call is not going through. Luckily, he managed to warn Li Jinghua earlier so he doesn't have to worry about Mother Li's safety. But what he's worried about is that Mother Li's mental state. He could already imagine his mother urging Li Jinghua to drive them to look for him in this broadcasting center. As he was musing, there was suddenly a loud 'bang' on the door to their studio. 

Upon closer inspection, Li Xinwen saw that a dent was formed on the metal door. Looking at this, he knew that the door wouldn't last for long. He inconspicuously took out a small handgun from his spatial ring and stared at it for a short time. On it, he could see the manufacturer's name and the model engraved on its chamber. 'This Smith and Wesson M&P Compact 22 should do for now,' Li Xinwen thought to himself. Gripping it on his hand, he pushed the magazine release to check on the magazine to make sure he got the bullets in. 'Ten rounds… So there's only ten chances to save them without being suspicious.'

He slid the magazine back in and pulled on the chamber before he made sure the safety lock is on. Only then did he took out the concealed holster from the spatial ring. Just as he was about to put the holster on, he realized his small blunder.

"…"

Putting the handgun back into his spatial ring, Li Xinwen looked around to make sure that the staff is still not coming back, and then he quickly undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants and quickly slides the holster in to his right side before he clipped it on his belt. Once done, he quickly redid his pants and belt. Taking the gun back out, he holstered it carefully, making sure its concealed properly and afterwards, he fixed the cardigan he was wearing. 'If I had known that the first outbreak were to happen today, I would've made sure to put on the holster in advance…'

Around five minutes passed and the staff are finally returning. Li Xinwen made a headcount, concluding that there were about thirty of them. And he also reminded them of the danger just outside the door. "Oh, and there might be a zombie just behind the door. Earlier, it banged on the door, causing a dent. Once again, do not panic. Always aim for the head. For those with blunt weapons, just swing them to the zombie head as hard as you can. Even if you can't kill it immediately, you can still stagger them and buy you more time for another attack."

"Everyone understood?" Li Xinwen asked and he received the acknowledgement from the staff. "Good. I will now open the door. Remember, the zombie are slow and they cannot think. Use that to your advantage."

Li Xinwen walked over to the door, held the handle and with his other hand, unlocked the door. Glancing over at the staff to make sure they are prepared, he finally opened the door.