Rebirth: City Beseiged By Zombies - Chapter 8: “None of You can Live”

Shen Chen only gave it a brief consideration, then immediately raised his head to scan the perimeter. The floor windows of the ellu restaurant showed there were no living humans inside. Most zombies had left through the open door and had gathered outside it.

Not far from where they were, a few cars were skewed on the street. One car was thrown over on its side. The pungent odor of gas dripping out of its gas tank kept the zombies far away.

“Let’s go next to that car!” Shen Chen mouthed to Ye Xiaoyu silently.

‘Does he want to pour oil on himself to repel the zombies?’ thought Ye Xiaoyu in confusion.

The two of them changed their direction again, walking side-by-side to the car. When they arrived before it, Shen Chen quickly got inside and yanked off the seat covers. Then he tore the seat covers into strips, soaked them in gas, left one end in the gas tank, and dragged out a rope covered in gas.

After doing all this, Ye Xiaoyu stared at Shen Chen in astonishment. The latter only nodded, then said, “Go wait for me near the restaurant.” Then he tossed a lighter on the ground.

The fire lit up. Gas is extremely flammable. The flames slowly crept along the rope. The fire’s light in the dark night attracted all of the zombies’ attention. More and more zombies started to gather over to it.

Shen Chen used a few toppled outdoor trash cans to nimbly climb up the roof of a two-story building. When he turned around, he saw the flames start to spread out from the gas tank. The exposed wires caught fire first, then the car seat cushions, insulation, and other such flammable textiles.

More and more zombies gathered toward it. The zombies that had approached the car first had lost interest in the fire, but when they tried to leave, they were surrounded by more arriving zombies. The situation became disorderly. The outer layers of surrounding zombies squeezed the zombies in the middle out of shape. The zombies in the middle started falling, but the ensuing zombies were already approaching with raised arms…

Boom! The first loud noise was the sound of car windows exploding. The great noise broke through the silence of the night that was supposed to be clamorous. Then the lid of the gas tank flew off. Flames spewed out of it. Soon, the tires could no longer endure the high temperature and began exploding, but the zombies had no sense to escape. Instead, they rushed over even more excitedly.

In the fire light, Shen Chen’s smile was especially indifferent. He looked down at the military watch on his wrist, then raised his head again and said, “It’s about time.”

As his last word fell, a giant sound rang through the night sky. Rumble!! A giant rumble! Accompanied by the deafening sound of the explosion, the entire car flew off the ground. The strong air current made a massive explosion like a cannonball, shooting out a scorching wave. Followed by the boom, which shook the earth and sky, thick rolling smoke rose up from the ground like a sand storm, accompanied by the crimson fire. The zombies that were heading toward the car were all incinerated in the explosion. Bloody limbs and flesh were sent into the sky by the air current, then rained down on the earth, splattering everywhere. They splattered onto the shattered glass curtain walls and the broken asphalt road.

……

The entire ground shook. Ye Xiaoyu pressed herself tightly against the glass curtain wall behind her, watching the man standing on the roof in shock and excitement. The flames in the dark night made his face somewhat blurry, but she could tell from his clothes, which billowed in the wind, how composed he was, and that he had everything under control.

Suddenly, Ye Xiaoyu let out a light gasp, only because the figure ran and jumped straight down from the three-story high rooftop and rolled over on the ground, then ran straight toward her.

Ye Xiaoyu quickly rushed up. Shen Chen nodded at her approvingly and said, “Let’s go into the restaurant!”

The two ran into the restaurant. There were only a few wandering zombies wearing server uniforms and chef uniforms in the restaurant. They were drawn to the firelight and tried to walk outside.

Shen Chen shut the door behind him, then put down the roll-up door. He held Black Blade in both hands. “Let’s make it quick. You take two. I’ll take six.”

Ye Xiaoyu nodded. The two of them slowly walked toward the zombies. In a blink, all eight zombies were killed. They lay on the floor silently without a single hint of the horror and scariness they had displayed when they were still “living.”

Ye Xiaoyu looked around and said, “Shen Chen, there’s no one here besides dead people and zombies.”

Shen Chen agreed. He said to Ye Xiaoyu, “Go look in the kitchen.”

The two came to the kitchen and saw that the large kitchen was completely empty. Steam rose from the food on the stove. The delicacies had once been sought after by customers, but now they were like symbols of the city’s demise.

‘Boss isn’t here…’ Shen Chen furrowed his brows, using the expensive napkins to wipe Black Blade. Then he stood up and walked outside. ‘If Boss isn’t here, where could he be?’

Suddenly, a strong gust came from behind him. Shen Chen instinctively dodged, taking on a fierce expression.

“Catch this! A savory lamb leg!”

Shen Chen was a little surprised. When he came to, he caught the little lamb leg, which was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, with precision. He felt a little helpless.

“Restore your strength. Lamb is good for heating you up and restoring your strength. It’s good for exhaustion and cold and all sorts of injuries,” Ye Xiaoyu said with a smile.

“I’ll eat when we come back,” said Shen Chen.

“You’ll have strength after you eat. Then it’ll be easier to rescue others!” Ye Xiaoyu said stubbornly.

The aroma of cumin made Shen Chen swallow. He suddenly remembered… How long had it been since he had eaten anything like that in the previous life? Starting from the second year of the apocalypse, tree bark, termite, grass roots… anything that was edible in the world had been eaten by the surviving humans. If anyone was lucky enough to find a moldy cookie, they would even lick the crumbs clean off the floor…

Shen Chen slowly sat down with his legs crossed, taking a small bite of the lamb. The fat and cooked meat full of nutrients quickly melted in his mouth. He ate quickly but carefully, seriously, not even missing the crevices in the bones. Finally, the small lamb leg was lightly placed on the counter, as if it were an air-dried skeleton.

“Are you a Virgo?”

“Huh?” Shen Chen was a little perplexed.

Ye Xiaoyu pointed at the clean lamb bone. “I’ve never seen anyone eat a bone so artfully. Aside from being a Virgo, I can’t think of any other reason.”

Shen Chen couldn’t help laughing, as if reminiscing about something. “I’m just so traumatized by hunger… To me, food is worth using my life to defend myself.”

“So Shen Chen is a foodie.” Ye Xiaoyu didn’t understand what Shen Chen’s words meant, but Shen Chen didn’t intend to explain it.

“In a sense, I suppose I am.”

The conversation lightened the previously tense and oppressive atmosphere. After the two of them took a short break, Ye Xiaoyu asked, “Shen Chen, is the person you’re looking for… in here?”

Shen Chen shook his head.

Ye Xiaoyu looked relieved. “That’s good, but where are we going to look for them? And also, who is this person? Your girlfriend?”

Shen Chen shook his head. “No, he’s the Boss of our dorm. When the zombie outburst started, he got lost around here.”

For some reason, Ye Xiaoyu felt a little relieved, then she coughed lightly and said, “When the zombies broke out, there was no way he could have walked into a restaurant full of zombies. If he’s around here, I saw a cardroom nearby earlier… Say, did Boss go there to hide?”

Shen Chen’s eyes lit up, then he looked at Ye Xiaoyu with approval. “You’re right. Let’s go take a look at that cardroom.”

A light blush rose on Ye Xiaoyu’s face, then she jumped up excitedly, holding the fire axe. Shen Chen found another woven bag and put some frozen food in it. The two of them opened the restaurant door again. By then, the fire from the car explosion had gradually died down. The zombies that had approached were also scattering. The rotten stench around the cars made them frown. The two quickly walked along the street to the cardroom and lightly hit the door. There wasn’t a single sound from behind it.

Ye Xiaoyu was a little agitated. She quickly said, “Open up! We’re humans!”

After a while, shuffling noises came from behind the door, then someone said quietly, “You guys should leave. We can’t open the door. There are so many monsters outside. If we opened the door, everyone would die.”

Ye Xiaoyu’s face suddenly fell. “We’ll make it quick. Just let us in!” But no one answered from behind the door.

Ye Xiaoyu gazed at Shen Chen in shock and disappointment. Shen Chen only made an expression indicating he was used to this type of situation. Shen Chen handed her a pack of bacon and said, “Tell them we have food. If they open the door, we’ll give them the food.”

Ye Xiaoyu turned around again to communicate this, but the people inside the door only nagged. They asked for ten boxes of bacon, then for drinking water, but didn’t mention anything about opening the door.

Ye Xiaoyu finally couldn’t stand it anymore. “What the hell do you mean? Open the door!” She spoke very quietly, but her words were rushed from anxiety. “Just let us inside!”

“We can’t open the door! Get lost!” a husky, rude voice suddenly said from behind the door.

Ye Xiaoyu gasped. She had handed in all the food through the crack in the door, but the man was suddenly not opening the door anymore.

Shen Chen finally couldn’t take it any longer. He walked up and said in a calm and deep voice, “Everyone inside, listen up. We’re only two people. Let us in now, and I promise there will be no danger.”

A few snickers came from inside the door, then quieted down. Ye Xiaoyu couldn’t help cursing. “You bunch of wimps! Cowards! Inhumane demons!” She couldn’t imagine how these people could only care about their own safety in this situation.

Shen Chen took a deep breath, then pulled Ye Xiaoyu away slightly. Then, before Ye Xiaoyu’s stare of disbelief, he kicked the door forcefully. The roll-up door emitted a jarring rattling sound. Shen Chen yelled aggressively, ‘Listen up! If you don’t open the door, I’ll kick the door open and draw all the zombies over. If we die, none of you guys can live!”