The area in front of the auto parts city was far from clear. We counted at least seven or eight zombies blocking the path.
"Let me handle this!" I drew my long knife, flexed my wrist, got out of the car, and swiftly decapitated the nearest zombie.
My aim was getting better and better. It seems practice really does make perfect, and effort rarely disappoints!
The zombies detected fresh brains and roared as they charged. We formed a back-to-back defensive formation, cooperating to clear the monsters.
Truth be told, the long knife is better suited for single combat. With companions close behind or beside me, I couldn't swing it fully without risking injuring them.
This felt awkward and somewhat restrictive.
"Spread out a bit!" I suggested. Everyone immediately gave me enough space.
Without sufficient swing room, the long knife loses its effectiveness. This time, I was ready to unleash its full potential!
One, two, three! Watching the rotten heads of the zombies split open like watermelons under my blade was immensely satisfying!
With the zombies in front of me all eliminated, I quickly checked on my companions.
My husband and Qiao had also finished. Liu and Wang still had one zombie left in front of them. The number of zombies had increased! When we observed from the car, there were clearly only eight. Probably some had been drawn by the noise!
We moved over and quickly dispatched the remaining few. The entrance to the auto parts city was finally clear!
"Don't relax yet, everyone. The inside is definitely packed too. We're open on Sundays; it's usually our busiest day! If I hadn't planned to take the kids out with Ling that day, I'd probably be finished here too!" Liu's expression was grave, his eyes fixed tightly on the main door of the auto parts city.
Inside was, as expected, a hive of activity. There must have been plenty of workers and customers on that Sunday. Who knows what horrific process they endured, all turning into ravenously hungry zombies. Swinging the doors open attracted the attention of every single one inside. Damn it! It was a madhouse in there! Looked like dozens of them! The stench was overwhelming!
"We can't kill them all! Retreat!" I yelled urgently. We dashed back to the cars, started the engines, and sped away.
Previously, the main gate of the auto parts city had been closed by someone. The mindless zombies, unable to open doors, had been trapped. Now, finally set free, they all came pouring out!
Ah, what terrible luck! After the recent heavy snow, the roads hadn't been cleared. The snow was deep, preventing us from driving too fast. Our escape felt frustratingly sluggish. Thankfully, the zombies seemed even slower in the snow, slipping and falling constantly, tripping over each other. You guys have fun playing by yourselves! Maybe have a snowball fight! Build a snowman! We won't be joining you. So long!
Watching the zombies stubbornly chase in the direction we'd fled filled us with glee. This was exactly our plan—to lure them away from the auto parts city!
Thirty minutes later, we looped back under the overpass. Ha! Just as we thought! The auto parts city gates were now empty of zombies. Those fools were probably still chasing relentlessly after our phantom trail! Best if they chased themselves right out of the city!
We drove slowly back through the gates. The men got out, securely closed the heavy main doors, and locked them from the inside.
The auto parts city was vast. While the commotion had drawn the main crowd gathered near the entrance, there were bound to be stragglers still inside. We couldn't let our guard down!
Liu's shop was near the entrance. We quickly reached it. Liu pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, and we all crowded inside. His shop was quite spacious! And fully stocked!
"Looks like we need to fit all the cars with snow tires first!" Liu said, once he'd caught his breath.
Absolutely. The way the cars had fishtailed earlier... if a real horde gave chase, it could be disastrous.
"Essential!" everyone agreed.
"Right next door is the Michelin flagship store! Welcome!" Liu winked at everyone. We all smiled knowingly.
Without further ado, under Liu's guidance, the men quickly got to work. Tinkering with cars seems to be in men's blood—professional or not, they all know a thing or two! Specialized skills are so important!
"Let's change the engine oil to the best too! This entire auto parts city is ours now!" Liu was exhilarated. He ran a car modification shop; messing with cars was his greatest passion in life. He was truly in his element now!
"Go ahead, but prioritize practicality over flashy looks!" I reminded him from the sidelines. In his excitement, he might just repaint the cars strange colors or add decals! Enthusiasts like him are capable of such things! Under normal circumstances, he could play around all he wanted, but our time was limited now!
Their greatest achievement, of course, was welding sturdy, solid iron bars onto all the car windows. It felt incredibly secure! Let the zombies break their teeth on those!
There were also customer cars parked inside the auto parts city, left for repairs or modifications. Among them were two Land Rovers. Liu checked them—both were in perfect working order. They seemed to have been in for snow tire changes, as the work was half-finished. Probably the owners and staff had turned on each other mid-job. Ah, this further bolstered our Land Rover fleet! The men finished mounting the snow tires and welded bars onto the windows, securing them thoroughly.
The variety of tools in the auto parts city was astounding! Each one could be used as a weapon, and therefore, against zombies! We loaded all the useful ones into the vehicles.
As our mission neared its end and we prepared to drive home, howls suddenly erupted from outside the auto parts city!
Damn! Were those zombies back? Or new ones from somewhere else? Sounded like a large group! How irritating!
Fortunately, our vehicles were fully prepared. Armed with our tools, we got in, locked the doors. Forget zombies; even lions or tigers would be powerless against us now.
Driving up to the main gate, a new problem emerged: Liu had locked it from the inside. To get out, someone had to unlock it, but opening the door meant enormous risk—they could be instantly overwhelmed by zombies surging in from outside!
We're all ordinary people. No matter how brave or skilled, one cannot fight off a whole pack alone.
We were stumped. This was no time for heroics!
"I have an idea!" Liu leaned out of his car window and shouted to us.
"I grabbed a long-handled bolt cutter! I can reach the lock from the car door!" he yelled.
"Then hurry up! Be quick, don't get yourself caught!" I urged him.
Liu maneuvered his car close to the gate's lock, positioning the door as near as possible. He then opened the door, leaned out with the long bolt cutter, and snipped the lock in a few tries. The gate burst open as zombies outside charged in. Liu swiftly pulled himself and the cutter back inside, slammed the door shut, and locked it. That was close! He almost fell out!
This guy was quite the character, remembering to retrieve his precious bolt cutter even in such a tight spot! I thought to myself. Maybe Liu considered the tool too important to lose. But what is more important than life?
Outside, about twenty or thirty zombies, upon seeing living people inside, excitedly rushed in, surrounding our vehicles.
Seeing their ugly faces right outside the window made me nauseous again. While I wasn't as afraid of them anymore, I couldn't ignore their rotting flesh—it was utterly disgusting! And I have a thing about cleanliness, sigh.
We rolled down the windows slightly and each aimed our sharp tools—I, of course, used my long knife. What the others used, I didn't know, but they'd all abandoned kitchen knives.
Aim the point at an eye socket—thud! One down. Aim again—thud! Another!
So recklessly desperate! Were you this driven in your careers before? Fighting down the nausea from the close proximity, I focused on piercing skull after skull.
Soon, the zombies surrounding the cars lay瘫倒 (collapsed) on either side. We started the engines and drove out of the auto parts city in a line.
"This place will be useful later. I'll lock it up so zombies don't move in again before our next visit." Liu got out and secured the auto parts city gates from the outside with a thick chain, locking the zombie corpses inside.
"It's so cold; at least we don't have to worry about them rotting. No heating in the auto parts city." Liu Yuxuan still had his sense of humor