"Listen," Sam hefted the somewhat rusty but solid iron pipe he'd found in the corner of the convenience store's stockroom—probably an old crowbar. It was a bit short, but more than enough to smash a zombie's fragile skull. "I'll go out first and clear a path. You stick close behind me. I'll try to go a bit slower, but don't fall more than five steps behind, got it?" He looked back at Vanessa, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And… are you sure you can run fast enough?"
"I… I was on the track team in high school! I got second place in the 1000 meters!" Vanessa seemed spurred by Sam's doubt, puffing out her chest slightly, trying to project a confidence she clearly didn't feel to prove she wouldn't be a burden. But her clenched fists and a slight tremor in her body betrayed her inner fear. Sam scoffed internally—back in his high school football days (even if he was just a benchwarmer), he wouldn't have bet on making it three hundred meters in this hellhole without incident.
"Alright, you better be." Sam didn't say more. He took a deep breath, his hand already on the metal handle of the convenience store's back door. He twisted the lock sharply, yanked the door open, and simultaneously roared, "Run!"
The sound was like a stone dropped into a dead-silent lake, instantly creating ripples of chaos. Several "human-shaped driftwood" figures that had been wandering aimlessly in the nearby street were immediately startled. They let out guttural growls and, drawn by the sound and the sudden appearance of fresh human scent, charged madly towards them. And his shout, like lighting a fuse, agitated the other zombies on the entire street, their roars echoing one after another.
THWACK. The foremost zombie, just as it lunged, was met by the swinging crowbar in Sam's hand, striking its head hard. After the heavy thud, its skull split open like a watermelon, red and white matter splattering everywhere.
System Notification: Zombie Kill x1 Confirmed. Hope Points +5. Quest "Zombie Killer" Progress: 19/100.
"Run! Keep up!" Sam yelled without looking back, simultaneously swinging the crowbar in a backhanded sweep. The pipe whistled through the air, smashing another lunging zombie's jaw, then with a flick of his wrist, he brought it down hard from above, directly splitting its skullcap.
System Notification: Zombie Kill x1 Confirmed. Hope Points +5. Quest "Zombie Killer" Progress: 20/100.
Vanessa stuck close behind Sam, desperately running towards the corner apartment building they had spotted earlier. The ordinary women's casual shoes she wore, though not high heels, were extremely inconvenient for running on a street littered with debris and bloodstains. She nearly tripped several times, but the desire to survive gave her an unprecedented burst of speed.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw a figure break away from the zombie horde behind them to the side, rapidly closing in. It was an unusually powerfully built male zombie, its muscle definition still visible even through the decay. Its speed far surpassed the surrounding common zombies; it was like a sprinter at full tilt. It growled lowly, running on all fours, rapidly closing the distance, about to leap and launch a deadly pounce.
"Taste this!" Sam's heart tightened. He immediately changed tactics. He shifted the crowbar to his left hand for a block, his right hand flashing to his hip, drawing his Glock. With almost no time to aim, relying on his enhanced instincts and reaction speed, he fired decisively at the lunging figure. BANG.
The bullet accurately punched a hole in the zombie's forehead. Its forward momentum died instantly, and just as the crowbar smashed into its head, it fell heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and lay still.
System Notification: Zombie Kill x1 Confirmed. Hope Points +5. Quest "Zombie Killer" Progress: 21/100.
[Damn it, still 5 points?!] Sam thought, annoyed, looking at the corpse on the ground, clearly much stronger than the average zombie. [This thing ran like Bolt, yet it was worth the same as those other monsters? The system's pricing was a rip-off! It couldn't be that a baby zombie would also be worth 5 points later, could it?]
Sam and Vanessa had just sprinted around the corner, the relatively intact apartment building entrance now just ahead. But just as they were about to make their final dash, three zombies, like a three-headed Cerberus from hell, snarled and lunged out from a side alley almost shoulder-to-shoulder, charging straight at them.
[Fuck!] Sam cursed inwardly. No time to complain now. He shoved Vanessa hard towards the apartment building entrance, yelling, "Keep running! Don't stop! Don't look back!"
Before his words faded, he himself charged forward, not retreating, meeting the three monsters head-on. He dropped low, his center of gravity sinking, and his right leg whipped out like a steel whip. THWACK. The knee joint of the foremost zombie shattered on impact, and it howled as it pitched forward.
But the other two zombies were already upon him, decayed claws swiping at his face with a fetid wind. Sam didn't dodge. The crowbar in his hand struck out like a viper, accurately ramming straight into the open, stinking maw of one zombie, piercing all the way through. He could even feel the resistance as the pipe tip punctured the back of its skull.
He didn't pause for a second. Kicking off his left foot, his body spun with the momentum, his right leg lashing out again at a vicious angle, striking the other zombie squarely in the side. The zombie was sent flying, slamming into the nearby wall. Sam then brutally twisted the iron pipe still embedded in the first zombie's mouth, then, with an upward thrust, aimed for its cranial cavity and rammed it hard.
System Notification: Zombie Kill x1 Confirmed. Hope Points +5. Quest "Zombie Killer" Progress: 22/100.
But before he could pull the crowbar free from deep within the skull, the zombie he'd kicked against the wall had already shrieked and scrambled back up, lunging at him again fiercely. The situation was critical. Sam made an instant decision, abandoning the crowbar, his right hand flashing to his Glock. BANG. The bullet accurately punched a bloody hole in the zombie's forehead.
System Notification: Zombie Kill x1 Confirmed. Hope Points +5. Quest "Zombie Killer" Progress: 23/100.
By now, Vanessa had frantically reached the closed glass main door of the apartment building. Sam sprinted over in a few steps, yelling at her, "Quick! Inside!"
This apartment building had two sets of doors. The outer one was a heavy glass security door that needed to be electronically unlocked from the inside, but the power was clearly out now. Inside that was an ordinary fire door leading to the stairwell, which seemed to have a keyhole operable from the outside.
Sam braced his back against the outer glass door, as zombies continually slammed into it from outside, their bodies and claws frantically hitting and scratching the tempered glass, making sickening thuds and ear-splitting screeches. But thankfully, this door was quite sturdy, holding firm for the moment. Vanessa, in extreme panic, fumbled with the keys from her pocket, missing the keyhole several times. Finally, urged on by Sam and the increasingly frantic pounding of the zombies outside, with a click, she managed to open the inner fire door.
"Quick!" Sam felt the outer door was about to give way. He spun around, slipped through the fire door just a second before the glass door burst open, and then, together with Vanessa, they threw all their weight against the fire door, slamming it shut and locking it.