The cigarette in Wang Qiang's hand gradually burned out without him realizing it, and his thoughts slowly returned from their daze.
He tilted his head slightly and asked, seemingly indifferent, "Quan, how's the situation now?"
Tang Xiaoquan took a deep breath, looking exceptionally heavy, but said nothing and just shook his head.
Since Wang Qiang fell asleep from the shock, Tang Xiaoquan stayed vigilantly beside him, in case the corpse they had smashed into pulp on the ground revived again.
While Wang Qiang slept, the constant screams and cries for help from outside the building made Tang Xiaoquan's scalp tingle and his heart race with fear. Several times, he was tempted to go to the window to check the situation outside, but the weight of all that had happened left his legs feeling like they were filled with lead, unable to move.
"What exactly is happening outside? Why can't we reach the police or emergency services? How could the breathless corpse just come back to life inexplicably?"
Numerous questions were swirling in his mind, causing his head to swell. He reached out to grab the cigarette on the table, but then...
"Boom!" A thunderous explosion echoed across the sky, causing Tang Xiaoquan to fall directly to the ground from the shock.
"Zzt, zzt!"
The old incandescent bulb overhead flickered briefly before gradually returning to normal. Wang and Tang exchanged heavy glances and then simultaneously focused on the outside through the window, where most of the sky had been dyed red by the raging fire.
"What the... is going on??" Wang Qiang murmured, his eyes dazed. Although the explosion occurred thousands of miles away, he could faintly hear the incessant wailing of sirens, the cries of anguish, and the gunshots that sounded like firecrackers.
"Could it be a terrorist attack?" A flash of insight crossed Tang Xiaoquan's mind, and he scrambled up from the ground, started rummaging through the cluttered table. Once he found a remote control about the size of his palm, he hastily turned on the old TV set with its outdated cathode ray tube.
Perhaps from long disuse, the TV took several seconds before the twisted image in the center of the screen gradually returned to normal.
"Dear viewers, we are currently located at the toll station on the city west expressway. Due to multiple terrorist events affecting many areas today, a large number of citizens are evacuating the city."
"According to reliable information obtained from relevant departments, this terrorist attack is not an isolated case targeted at a specific region or country, but a global biochemical crisis!!"
"Therefore, we urge all citizens to remain calm and stay at home. Currently, all main routes out of the city are under military control. Additionally, the government has issued the following warning ordinances."
"One, if you encounter anyone who attacks with biting, regardless of who they are, please stay away from them. You may defend yourself if necessary. Two, when attacking, only a headshot will be fatal. Three, emergency lines have been temporarily shut down, and if you find someone unusual in your home, isolate them immediately. Lastly, please remain calm and trust the government. This event will soon be pacified."
The host's solemn words gradually blurred, while in Tang Xiaoquan's mind, only the four words she uttered kept resonating:
"Biochemical crisis!"
Yes, recalling today's many occurrences, everything seemed to match perfectly with the apocalyptic scenes from movies and games—could the apocalypse really have arrived?
As Tang Xiaoquan was deep in thought, a woman's shrill scream burst forth from the old TV's broken speakers.
"Ah!!" Tang Xiaoquan couldn't see what was occurring live, but through the camera that had fallen to the ground, he could clearly see blood trickling down the woman's legs, pooling into a small puddle, followed by several large-headed black shadows scrambling to the ground, greedily sucking.
Then, with a "click", the image turned into static.
The broadcast was cut off...
Inside the small room, silence prevailed. King Tang and Tang stood unmoving, the host's earlier heart-wrenching scream still echoing in their ears, leaving them unable to calm down.
"What should we do?" Tang Xiaoquan murmured softly to himself, usually having a penchant for apocalypse-themed TV shows, yet now that this had truly come...
His right hand holding the remote trembled slightly, as if the heavens were intent on letting this young man feel the true terror of the apocalypse.
The wooden door, quiet for a while, suddenly shook violently, issuing loud bangs.
"Damn!"
Wang Qiang reacted quickly. Having learned from the prior painful lesson, this time he didn't foolishly open the door but instead rushed to the door, leaning his back against it to prevent whatever was outside from breaking in.
"Damn, how did these bastards know we were in here?" Feeling the intense pounding against the door pressing against his back, Wang Qiang asked urgently.
"How did they know?" Tang Xiaoquan instinctively glanced at the old TV emitting a "zzt zzt" sound and immediately understood the reason.
Sound! It must have been that sound! It was the host's scream from the TV that caught the attention of the zombies outside! Dammit! How could I be so careless!
Furious, he switched off the TV, but the creatures outside didn't seem willing to give Tang Xiaoquan a chance to regret because...
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, Wang Qiang felt his cheek scratched open by something, followed by splintered wood fragments flying in all directions. After that, a chilling claw reached inside.
"Damn you!" It was Wang Qiang's second time confronting the enemy, and unlike the first time when his mind went blank, now he was much calmer.
He held the claw that kept flailing and called out loudly to Tang Xiaoquan to find a solution quickly.
Solution? Quickly recalling scenes of defeating enemies in survival games, Tang Xiaoquan's eyes scanned the table, then landed on the kitchen knife mostly unused since its purchase.
Grabbing the knife, Tang Xiaoquan rushed to the door without hesitation, slashed repeatedly at the claw, and once he'd severed it, continued using the blunt side of the knife to break open the gap the zombies had created.
Ghastly white eyes, hollow and vacant, the zombie peeked through the crack, seeing the two scrumptious meals inside, roaring excitedly, desperately squeezing through the gap.
"Quan! What are you standing around for, finish it!"
Wang Qiang's loud shout, like thunder, brought Tang Xiaoquan back from his daze.
He stared at the creature in front of him, which was theoretically no longer human, his right hand holding the knife trembling slightly.
To kill or not to kill? Tang Xiaoquan was caught in a difficult dilemma...