Early morning.
Autumn Blade Slashes Fish, also known as He Mingxuan, woke up groggily. He breathed into his palm and sniffed. It seemed fine.
He hadn't brushed his teeth or washed his face. He just stood in front of the toilet, lowered his head to look at his potbelly, and habitually held himself while taking a piss.
With his large build, the stream was weak and didn't last long. He was done in no time.
He went out to the balcony and looked toward the second floor across from him. As usual, the beautiful woman was looking his way, holding up some vegetables for him to see. Just looking at them made He Mingxuan's mouth water.
Not because he felt any desire for the woman.
He hadn't eaten anything for several days. All he could think about was getting a bite of those delicious vegetables. Meat would be even better.
The beautiful woman raised her hands to her impressive chest.
She seemed to be trying to give He Mingxuan a visually stimulating show.
But He Mingxuan was only interested in food.
"I can't just sit here and wait to die. I have to leave and get over there. They have food there—enough to keep me going for a long time."
He Mingxuan kept drilling the thought into his head.
He tried to work up his courage.
He would charge out and get to the other building.
The apocalypse had arrived, and zombies were everywhere. There was no hope, no future. If the zombies could have been wiped out, someone would have done it already. They wouldn't have let things reach this point.
He watched the area below.
He wanted to see where the zombies were. Maybe he was lucky, because he couldn't see any.
He hesitated.
"Should I risk it?"
He Mingxuan knew that the only way to keep living was to run out and make it to the second floor across the way. His stamina was still in decent shape. He could run, move, swing, and hack.
If he held out for a few more days without food, he would grow weaker and weaker. By then, even if he wanted to run, he might not be able to.
Should he take the risk?
He kept asking himself.
"If I can make it to the second floor over there, I'll have food—and a beautiful woman, too."
Perhaps he was thinking of the wonderful future ahead.
He Mingxuan went to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and prepared to make the risky trip.
Before leaving, he checked the area again. Still no zombies. He gathered his courage, looked through the peephole, and made sure it was safe. Then he carefully opened the security door, took a deep breath, and slowly descended the stairs.
He didn't dare close the door.
If he ran into a zombie, he wanted the chance to rush back inside and slam the door shut as quickly as possible.
The stairwell used to take less than a minute to cross.
Now it felt as if he'd been walking for a century.
He peeked around. The ground was covered in blood and bodies. He vaguely remembered how terrifying it had been when the apocalypse first arrived.
Everyone had been running.
Many people had been knocked to the ground by zombies, who tore into them in a frenzy.
The sight had terrified him.
It felt like the end of the world had come.
After hiding in the stairwell for half a minute, He Mingxuan crept out. Breathing fresh air and being downstairs filled him with energy.
He didn't dare make a sound.
Every so often, he stared into a shadowy corner, afraid a zombie might charge out. His hand clenched the cleaver nervously. He hadn't even swung it or exerted himself, yet his palm was already slick with sweat.
Around the corner was the path leading to the building across the way.
"No zombies. No zombies."
He Mingxuan prayed silently.
Keeping close to the wall, he slowly poked half his head around to check outside. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The residential complex's road was deserted—not a single zombie in sight.
It was a short distance, but with zombies around, it felt like torture to He Mingxuan.
"There aren't any zombies in the complex. Maybe something happening outside drew them away. It's been so many days, after all. Zombies need to replenish their food, too."
He Mingxuan figured that was probably what had happened.
He couldn't help relaxing.
Of course, he was relaxing mentally, not letting his guard down.
"Damn, if I'd known there weren't that many zombies, I would've come out ages ago. I didn't need to wait until now."
He Mingxuan picked up his pace. The second floor—he'd be safe as soon as he got there.
There was food there.
And the beautiful woman who was always tempting him.
The thought of having food and a beautiful woman by his side in the apocalypse made his heart race. He was so damn excited that even his little earthworm stirred a few times in excitement.
Just then.
"Roar!"
A low growl.
It came from behind him.
He Mingxuan turned around nervously. A zombie staggered out from around the corner, its face blank and its movements stiff.
The instant it saw him,
its eyes lit up. It roared excitedly and charged toward him.
"Fuck..."
Terrified, He Mingxuan took off running. His heavy build slowed him down, but luckily, he was far enough ahead that he was sure he could reach the second floor before the zombie caught him.
These were the zombies he feared most.
They were strong, fast, and had sharp hearing.
If he ran into one, he'd be as good as dead.
As the zombie's roar rang out,
the other zombies seemed to understand it. They came running from all directions, chasing after He Mingxuan.
He Mingxuan, head down and running for his life, didn't dare stop.
He could only hope the woman wouldn't play a trick on him.
If she didn't open the door,
he was dead.
He rushed into the stairwell.
He Mingxuan had never thought he could run so fast. Taking two steps at a time, he reached the second floor in the blink of an eye.
He saw hope.
The door was open.
The woman was waiting for him at the entrance.
Hope flooded his heart, and his whole body trembled with excitement.
Bang!
He made it safely inside.
The woman hurriedly shut the door.
A moment later,
he heard the zombies' footsteps outside. But they hadn't seen which room He Mingxuan had entered, so they could only continue wandering around.
He Mingxuan was about to speak.
"Shh..." The woman signaled for him to stay quiet. She stood silently by the door, listening to the noise outside. After a long while, the zombies fell silent, as if they had gone down the stairs and left.
Only then did she turn to He Mingxuan. "My name is Ren Jiali. What's yours?"
"He Mingxuan."
Autumn Blade Slashes Fish sized up the woman before him. From a distance, he'd only been able to make out a blurry outline. Now he could see that she was truly beautiful, with a great figure. With enough supplies, he could spend the rest of his life in bed with a girl like her.
He was thinking about one thing.
Should he just make his move, or try to build a connection first? Maybe he could spend a few hours chatting with her, then take things to the bedroom for some intimate conversation.
Suddenly,
he heard a door open.
He Mingxuan was startled, thinking a zombie had gotten in. He nearly grabbed his cleaver to defend himself.
But when he saw a tall, muscular man with his upper body bare step out of the room, he froze.
Damn!
There was another man.
A man with a thick mat of chest hair.
Did that mean...the woman already belonged to someone else, and he didn't stand a chance?
Damn!
Disappointment welled up inside him.
But wait...
Why was the man staring at him as soon as he came out? And why did his gaze seem so predatory, as if he were sizing up some kind of prey?
For some reason,
Autumn Blade Slashes Fish thought of a news story from overseas.
Two burglars broke into a homeowner's house, only to discover that the homeowner was a big, strong gay man. He locked them up for five days and used them for his pleasure. When the police finally rescued them,
the first place the two burglars were sent was the proctology department.
"He's my brother, Ren Yan."
The beautiful woman's words pulled He Mingxuan out of despair.
So he was her brother.
That meant he still had a chance.
He was already imagining himself pressing the beautiful woman beneath his fat body.
Ren Yan looked at He Mingxuan, licked his lips, and walked over. His strong, towering frame was a stark contrast to He Mingxuan's. Despite He Mingxuan being a little fat, next to Ren Yan he looked like a chubby child.
"Come with me to the room. I have something to tell you."
Ren Yan put an arm around He Mingxuan's shoulders.
He Mingxuan seemed dazed and followed him almost involuntarily.
A strong hand gently rubbed his waist, then kept moving lower. The sensation sent a chill through him.
"What are you doing?"
Ren Yan gave him a wicked smile. "You."
Slap!
The door closed.
Sounds of a scuffle came from inside, as if someone were beating a child.
The woman shook her head.
"Ugh, damn apocalypse. It's got my brother practically dying of boredom. He's the only one left in the whole complex, and he's interested in a guy this ugly..."
She shook her head, looking utterly helpless.
The ones her brother used to bring home were all young hotties.
Knowing how much her brother enjoyed torturing people,
she felt sorry for the fat guy named He Mingxuan.
He was probably going to become her brother's plaything.
P.S. I want to turn Autumn Blade Slashes Fish into a powerhouse in the apocalypse—a butcher, a man who stands tall, a symbol of humanity's indomitable spirit. But every successful person has to go through hardship. Yeah... nothing wrong with that. Fish, what do you think of this character?