I moved the corpse aside and stood in front of the Iron Gate again, narrowing my eyes as I peered inside through the gap.
"Is that... a hospital bed?"
From what I could see through the gap, the sixth-floor corridor was fairly clean and didn't look too chaotic. But right behind the door, an
iron bed was blocking the way.
"No wonder it was so hard to move..."
An iron bed wasn't exactly light, especially with all sorts of other things piled on top of it.
The bed looked as if someone had pushed it behind the Iron Gate, then piled things onto it to make it heavier. That was why
the Iron Gate had been nearly impossible to push open.
After hesitating, I tried knocking on the Iron Gate.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
But it did no good. The hallway remained silent.
After hesitating for a while, I knocked three more times.
"Bang, bang, bang."
Suddenly, a little girl's voice came from the other side of the Iron Gate. "Mommy, Mommy... If someone knocks in a rhythm like that, could it be a
person?"
The moment I heard that voice, I jolted with excitement!
Finally! I'd finally found someone!
Wait! This wasn't the time to get excited.
I suppressed my joy and impatience, then knocked on the Iron Gate three more times.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
At the same time, I called out, "Is anyone in there?"
"Mommy! Look, there really is someone!"
"Who is it? Who's outside?"
I heard the little girl, as well as an adult woman.
"I'm... a survivor. I was passing by and saw the man outside the door... That's how I noticed this place."
"A person?!"
"Yeah..." I replied, a little confused.
Right after that, something clattered on the other side of the Iron Gate. It was clear that the bed was being moved. Then came a creak, and the Iron Gate slowly
opened a crack. A woman with a grimy face peered out through it.
"Uh... hello."
I looked her up and down. She seemed to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She was fairly pretty, but had deep dark circles under her eyes and a sallow complexion. She
looked like a refugee.
The woman stared at me in surprise, then looked around frantically. Once she had checked that the coast was clear, she let out
a long breath and hurriedly said, "Come in, quick! There are lots of those things in the fire escape."
"Those things?" I thought for a moment, then asked instinctively, "You mean... zombies?"
"Mm-hmm! Yes, those things. Quick! Come in..." The woman seemed to remember something, and her voice faltered. After hesitating for a long while, she
gritted her teeth and said, "You... come in. I have a little food left. It should last us a few days, at least."
"Um... I really appreciate the offer, but I still have some food." I pointed to the backpack on my back, then looked at the little head peeking out below the woman's arm. It was a little girl, around eight or nine.
"Is she... your daughter?"
"She is... No, this isn't the time to talk about that! Hurry, come in! If they get here, we're done for!" the woman said anxiously, reaching out as if to pull me inside.
I sidestepped slightly and gave her what I hoped was a friendly smile. "If you mean the dozen or so zombies crowded in here, they're all dead."
"Dead... How is that possible? Who? Who did it? Was it the military? How many soldiers did they send?!" The woman's barrage of questions left me a little flustered, so I quickly raised a hand to stop her.
"It wasn't the military. It was me."
"You...?" The woman looked me up and down with suspicion before asking doubtfully, "You're just a girl... You killed all those... those zombies?"
"Mm-hmm. I killed them all."
The woman stared at me in disbelief.
"If you don't believe me... well, the bodies are on the ninth floor. You can go see for yourself." As I spoke, I lowered my head and looked at the little girl. But she wasn't looking at me. She was staring at the backpack behind me.
"Um..." I hesitated, then looked at the obviously malnourished and skinny little girl. "Are you hungry?"
The little girl nodded honestly.
I hesitated, but under the little girl's longing gaze, I took off my backpack and rummaged through it, pulling out some things I'd picked up along the way.
"Here... some candy. And... some potato chips, though they're crushed."
As I rummaged through my bag, I kept an eye on the woman out of the corner of my eye. In this dangerous world, I couldn't afford to hurt anyone—but I absolutely couldn't afford to let my guard down around them, either!
"Th-this..." the woman stammered in surprise.
I understood why she was surprised. One look at how thin the two of them were made it clear: in this world full of danger, food must be worth more than gold,
right?
It wouldn't even be unusual for someone to kill over food...
Ha, Women
After giving the little girl some snacks, I took out a bag of bread and handed it to the woman.
"Eat..."
As the woman stared at me in astonishment, I calmly put my backpack away and held out the bread.
"Thank you..." Her voice was choked with emotion. Perhaps something had come to mind. But the first thing she did after taking the bread wasn't to eat it. She put it away,
then turned to look at the man's corpse. Her eyes instantly reddened.
"Who is this man...?" I ventured to ask.
"My husband..." the woman replied naturally.
"I see... My condolences." I offered politely.
Suddenly, something tugged at my pants. I instinctively jumped back two steps and reached for my gun, but...
The little girl blinked at me innocently, and I awkwardly lowered my hand at once.
"Uh... ahem... what's your name?"
"My name is Juan'er~" the little girl replied adorably, tilting her head. Then she looked down at the snacks in her hands before looking up at me with gratitude.
"Thank you, Big Sister..."
"Big... Sister..."
Oh, Juan'er. You had no idea, but those simple words had dealt me a devastating blow!
"Yeah... Big Sister~" the little girl repeated in a drawn-out, childish voice.
"I'd rather..." you called me Big Brother~
But I didn't say the rest. It would have been far too weird.
"Mm... okay, take your time." The corner of my mouth twitched as I forced an awkward smile.
"Big Sister... you're so pretty~"
Juan'er... If you hadn't meant it innocently, I would've smacked you, you know?!
I clenched my fist, only to remember that the little girl wasn't wrong. Besides... in her mind, complimenting a Big Sister's looks was probably something that would earn her a reward, right?
Awkwardly, I reached out. Under the little girl's expectant gaze, I... had no choice but to place my hand on her head and gently pat it. She really was like a little kitten.
"Mm... Juan'er is such a good girl~"
I didn't mean it... but I had to say it anyway.
"Hehe~"
The little girl giggled twice at the compliment.
Just then, the woman walked over. I naturally lowered my hand, but I was wary of everyone. Perhaps it was because I'd been too much of a shut-in before? Or perhaps I was on guard because I realized all the things that could happen in the apocalypse?
"Thank you..." the woman said softly. Then she suddenly lowered her head and glanced at me. Perhaps she'd seen the pistol at my waist.