Chapter 18 Zombie Horde

Seeing so many zombies, Zhang Xiaofan gasped. There were simply too many of them. Even if every single bullet of his resulted in a headshot, he still wouldn't be able to wipe out all these creatures.

"Sha-sha, Yuli, I am behind the big tree at the 12 o'clock direction in front of the clock tower. There is a trash can next to the tree. Please answer if you copy," Zhang Xiaofan whispered into his communicator.

After a short moment, Yuli replied, "I'm on the roof. Did you see the clothes I'm wearing? I hung them out."

"Can't you just fly out?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"No, this window is too small. I can't get through."

"Alright, are you safe for the moment?"

"Fortunately, the door to this roof is made of iron, and I've already blocked it tightly. The zombies outside can't get in. But Xiaofan, I suggest you find some other people to help, because there are too many zombies inside this building. I just tried to rush out, but I was blocked and forced back," Yuli said helplessly.

Zhang Xiaofan looked up at the clock tower. It was a full five stories high, and right at the very top, there was indeed a small window-like opening. A bamboo pole poked out from the opening, with Yuli's jacket hanging on it.

"Yuli, can you blow up this window?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"This is a brick structure, so it can be blown open, but I didn't buy any grenades."

"I'll throw one up to you," Zhang Xiaofan said.

"But it's so high up here..."

Zhang Xiaofan glanced at a pile of long poles by the entrance of a nearby house and said, "I'll pass one up to you in a moment."

He walked over on tiptoe. Fortunately, the zombies were all concentrated near the front buildings, and not many paid attention to this area.

These poles were each about five meters long. Zhang Xiaofan found five of them, used cloth strips to tie them tightly together, and then fastened a grenade to the very top.

After finishing, Zhang Xiaofan left the twenty-meter-long pole aside, rushed out, and started firing wildly. "Come on, come on, baby! Zombies, come over here!"

"Tat-tat-tat..."

The AK spewed flame-like bullets, and an entire row of zombies fell down together. However, the zombies further back noticed the commotion and came charging forward with shrill howls.

The main objective this time was to lure the zombies away, so Zhang Xiaofan didn't dare to get bogged down in a protracted battle. He grabbed the long pole and ran toward the back of a nearby house. The horde of zombies gave chase, but most of them were quickly left far behind. After circling around the back of the houses, only a scattering of isolated zombies remained underneath the large clock tower.

Wielding a Nepalese machete, Zhang Xiaofan rushed forward and slashed wildly as if cutting vegetables, finally clearing out the area temporarily. Then, he raised the long pole upward.

The pole was very long, just about the right length to reach Yuli. As soon as Yuli untied the grenade, Zhang Xiaofan immediately scrambled back behind the building for cover.

With a loud "boom," an explosion echoed from the top of the clock tower, blasting open a large hole. The next moment, Yuli flapped his wings and flew out from within.

However, Yuli didn't stay aloft for long before he quickly descended. Zhang Xiaofan rushed over and discovered a large, ragged gash torn into Yuli's arm, with fresh blood flowing continuously.

"During the explosion, shrapnel hit me. I'm injured..." Yuli cried out weakly.

"Hold on." Zhang Xiaofan quickly gave him a simple bandage. By this time, scattered zombies were starting to discover this spot, and more kept pouring out from the village.

With no other choice, Zhang Xiaofan could only carry Yuli on his back and head toward a narrow path. Although this path was dark, the surrounding area was quite open. After walking for more than half an hour, Zhang Xiaofan finally spotted a small cottage standing alone in the middle of the fields.

Zhang Xiaofan and Yuli walked into the cottage's yard. Unexpectedly, at that moment, the cottage door suddenly opened, and a man wearing a white lab coat walked out.

He paused in surprise upon seeing the two of them, then nodded and said, "His injuries are very severe. Come inside, I'll treat him."

"Are you a doctor?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"Yes," the doctor replied, proactively supporting Yuli and helping him into the small house.

Dim lights flickered inside. In the center were a few chairs and a table, while a wooden cabinet piled with various sundries stood in the corner.

There were three other rooms inside. Supporting Yuli, the doctor walked straight into the room on the left, where a sickbed was located. After Yuli lay down, the doctor immediately prepared to set up an intravenous drip for him.

"Wait a minute."

Zhang Xiaofan instantly stopped the doctor's movement. He glanced around the room. Although it looked clean on the surface, the moment Zhang Xiaofan stepped inside, he smelled the stench of rotting corpses.

This smell was identical to the scent carried by the zombies outside.

"Little brother, what's wrong? If your friend keeps bleeding like this, he's going to die," the doctor said with a smile.

When the doctor smiled, a full mouth of large, yellow teeth was revealed. His hair was somewhat sparse, and as he spoke, he smoothed down the few strands he had left.

Zhang Xiaofan said, "The IV won't be necessary. Just please bandage him up properly."

The doctor nodded and said, "It seems you don't trust me, eh? You should know, I am currently the only living person left in this village."

As the doctor began bandaging Yuli, Zhang Xiaofan asked, "What on earth happened here?"

"Alas, more than a month ago, the villagers began falling ill one after another. Then, the ones who died came back to life successively. They started biting people and consuming raw flesh, and gradually they turned into this state."

"Why are you completely fine here?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"I live far away from the center, and I have plenty of weapons in my house, so I'm not afraid." The doctor gave a faint smile.

"Is the bandage done? How is my friend?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"Yes, it's done."

"Good!" Zhang Xiaofan nodded, then suddenly drew his handgun, aimed it straight at the doctor, pressed the barrel against his head, and said fiercely, "Tell me, what actually happened here? Did you have something to do with the villagers turning into zombies?"

The doctor in front of him was far too strange. Living alone here while facing the crisis of zombies, yet remaining completely unfazed—this person definitely had problems.

Zhang Xiaofan had a vague intuition that he was connected to this zombie crisis.

"Heh-heh..." Even with a gun aimed right at him, the doctor showed no panic at all. He widened his eyes and said, "Is this how you treat someone who helped you?"

Zhang Xiaofan shrugged and said, "You've already lost your usefulness. So, either talk, or die—choose for yourself."

"You really are ruthless and merciless," the doctor smiled. "Yesterday, many people just like you came as well. It's a pity..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the doctor suddenly split open his mouth into a bloody, gaping maw and lunged forward to bite Zhang Xiaofan.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

Zhang Xiaofan fired three shots in rapid succession, but the doctor's speed was simply too fast. Dodging agilely, he reached the doorway, let out a cold snort, and said, "All of you are going to die!"

His voice echoed from further and further away, while his figure vanished completely.

"He got away." Zhang Xiaofan's expression turned somewhat grim. This person was clearly also a zombie, but he had retained his intelligence and appearance from when he was alive, making him fundamentally different from the mindless zombies outside.