Locksmith

Wang Tao hadn't slept well last night.

The nearby survivors were probably the same.

That explosion last night had been terrifying enough, and the zombies driven berserk by the blast had let out one chilling howl after another. No one could sleep through that.

The first thing Wang Tao did after getting up was check his Health Bar.

His Health Bar was full. Although there were still some bruises on his arm, they barely hurt anymore. After the apocalypse, his ability to recover had grown stronger too.

Then he checked the doors and windows. Last night's berserk zombies had worried him. With how agile zombies were, what if they could climb walls...

Fortunately, everything in the house was safe.

Wang Tao then surveyed the zombies in the Residential Area Courtyard.

"There really are more zombies! They probably came in from outside, but they look so sluggish now, completely different from the zombies last night... What's going on?"

Wang Tao had thought the zombies had mutated last night. Those zombies darting nimbly around the courtyard had been too terrifying. But now, they had returned to normal, wandering around the courtyard at an unhurried pace.

"No, I need to observe them again tonight! I have to figure out what's going on with these zombies. Hopefully, the weather will be good tonight..."

After muttering to himself, Wang Tao looked toward the street next door where the explosion had happened last night.

The fire was still burning. Even through the open window, he could smell a nauseating stench of corpses.

Wang Tao quickly shut the window.

He made himself a simple breakfast.

After eating, Wang Tao thought for a moment and decided to check the second and first floors today, just to try his luck. As he recalled, there seemed to be tenants on both floors. What if someone was like the tenant in Apartment 301 and had left their key in the Electric Meter Box?

Before going out, he naturally armed himself from head to toe.

There were no zombies in the hallway anymore, but safety came first.

When he reached the second floor, Wang Tao searched the two Electric Meter Boxes but found no keys.

Still, something interesting caught his attention. Apartment 201's door was plastered with all kinds of locksmith ads, just like his own door, while Apartment 202's door was perfectly clean.

Wang Tao suddenly thought of some online jokes. Could those little ads have been pasted on the inside of the door instead? He chuckled and shook his head before heading down to the first floor.

There were no keys in the Electric Meter Boxes on the first floor either, which disappointed Wang Tao somewhat.

Since there were no keys, Wang Tao had no intention of knocking on those doors.

After all, he didn't have keys. Whether there were people or zombies inside, he wouldn't be able to get in.

Wang Tao softened his footsteps and went to inspect the building's security door.

Some of the glass on the building door had shattered, but there was Wire Mesh behind it. The door was still sturdy.

Through the window, he could see a group of zombies wandering outside. At a rough count, there were at least twenty of them.

"So many zombies... Getting out won't be easy..."

It was already the seventh day of the apocalypse, yet there was still no sign of any rescue effort. Wang Tao had long since stopped hoping for one. With the little supplies he had, he would definitely have to go out eventually.

There were only two ways for him to leave: cross through the Residential Area Courtyard, or climb out through the northern window. But the north side faced the street, where there were even more zombies.

So he could only go through the Residential Area Courtyard. Those twenty-odd zombies were something he would have to face.

If only he could lure them somewhere and kill them one at a time...

As he pondered, Wang Tao looked toward the other residential buildings.

He was in Building 4. From where he stood, he could only see Building 2 directly opposite and Building 1 diagonally across from it.

The situation in Buildings 2 and 1 did not look good. Wang Tao could clearly see that their building doors were open. Zombies went in, and zombies came out.

He had no idea whether there were any survivors left inside.

Wang Tao felt fortunate. He guessed their own building door had stayed shut because there were too many office workers in this building. The zombie outbreak had happened in the morning, and the office workers had all gone to work early.

In Buildings 1 and 2 across from them, however, there were many retired elderly men and women. They would gather downstairs to chat and play chess. Some had even propped their building security doors open with bricks for easier access, preventing them from closing.

If zombies had appeared under those circumstances, surviving would have been difficult for them.

After getting a rough grasp of the current situation, Wang Tao prepared to head back.

But when he reached the second floor, Apartment 202's door suddenly opened a crack.

Wang Tao immediately tightened his grip on the Steel Pipe and looked over cautiously.

"Brother, I'm not a zombie!"

A man's deliberately lowered voice came from inside.

Through the crack, Wang Tao saw a thin, balding middle-aged uncle who was around five foot four.

25/100

Judging by the green Health Bar above his head, he was not in very good health.

"The zombies in our hallway were killed by you, right, brother? You're amazing!"

Since Wang Tao had covered himself from head to toe, the Balding Uncle could not see what he looked like. But seeing the Steel Pipe in Wang Tao's hand and his burly build, he instinctively called him brother.

"What is it?"

Wang Tao spoke somewhat coldly.

If he had the ability, he would not mind helping survivors. But with rescue still nowhere in sight, he could not afford to be a foolish do-gooder, especially not for a stranger.

"Cough... Well, the food in my home has run out..."

The Balding Uncle scratched his head awkwardly.

"Sorry, I don't have enough food either. If I did, I wouldn't have come out."

Wang Tao shook his head.

"No, no, no, brother, you misunderstood! What I mean is, how about the two of us work together? I know where there's food, but I don't dare go get it..."

The Balding Uncle hurriedly explained.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

At that, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow.

The man did not look like an idiot, so he probably was not talking about outside. There were plenty of supplies out there, but only if one had the life to take them.

Sure enough, the Balding Uncle quickly said, "Apartment 201 right across from me! During the first two days of the apocalypse, I saw him carry a fifty-kilogram bag of rice home. He lives alone, so there must be plenty left!"

Fifty kilograms of rice!

With three normal meals a day, one person could probably eat that for one or two months.

If they rationed it, or ate only the bare minimum needed to survive, it could probably last several months...

"But Apartment 201 is locked."

Wang Tao looked at the Balding Uncle. He lived directly across from it, so there was no way he did not know Apartment 201 was locked. Since he had brought up this idea, he most likely had the key to Apartment 201. "I-I can pick locks! I'm a locksmith!"

The Balding Uncle immediately answered.

"..."

No wonder there were no locksmith ads on his door. He was a locksmith himself!

"Brother, how about this? I'll open their lock, and you deal with the zombie inside! We'll split whatever food we find fifty-fifty—no, I only want one-third. The rest is all yours, brother!"

After saying that, he stared at Wang Tao expectantly.

But after thinking for a moment, Wang Tao shook his head.