Traveling Out of the City

The official announcement finally eased the gloomy atmosphere. Several people hugged their phones and sobbed, and Ye Zhao let out a sigh of relief. It seemed the government hadn't completely fallen; that was good news.

She tapped on Weibo again, hoping to see news from the outside world, but unfortunately, it still showed no signal. Nothing would load.

No internet again?

Ye Zhao puzzled over it for a moment before helplessly putting her phone away. She planned to find a way to disperse the zombies below; otherwise, she would be trapped here.

She still wanted to get out of City X as soon as possible.

Just then, someone on the floor above shouted, "Come on then, come and eat your grandpa! Damn zombies! Go to hell, go to hell! Hahaha, let's see you fly up here if you're so capable!" They began throwing homemade Molotov cocktails down. As the bottles rained down, the dense crowd of zombies instantly turned into a sea of fire, which also ignited the cars on the road. A "boom" explosion echoed through the heavens and earth.

Zombies couldn't think, nor could they feel pain. Hearing the commotion, they rushed forward, wave after wave, and soon, a foul stench drifted through the air.

Someone said excitedly, "Great! If we can burn all these zombies, we'll be saved!"

The noodle shop owner was very agitated and led some people to the kitchen downstairs to carry up two buckets of sesame oil. Ye Zhao followed them. Since it was a noodle shop, Ye Zhao saw several steamers of buns and mantou in the kitchen, as well as basins of cooked toppings—beef, ribs, pork intestines, and chicken giblets. She walked around and scanned everything, not even sparing the seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Once the scanning was done, Ye Zhao went to help. She poured soy sauce and vinegar into buckets, replaced them with sesame oil and white liquor, and volunteered, "Let me throw them. I have a lot of strength."

[Scan successful: Create Simple Molotov Cocktail *1, Creation Points required: 1.]

She had to throw them far away, or the fire would be too close and burn the building down.

Glass bottles exploded in the middle of the road one after another. Seeing the zombies following the sound, Ye Zhao threw a burning torch over. With a loud "Boom!", the fire surged, illuminating the entire street.

As the fire died down and more than half of the zombies on the street were gone, Ye Zhao jumped to the window, ready to leave. The shop owner asked, "Are you just leaving like this? What if there are still many zombies elsewhere? You're a girl, how dangerous that is!"

The others chimed in, their eyes filled with terror, "Sister, don't run around. Just wait for the rescue team!"

"I'm not going out anyway. The whole city has fallen; going out is death! It's safer here."

"Wuu wuu, why did it have to be like this..."

Ye Zhao looked at them and said, "Thank you. You should also find a way to leave quickly. I don't think the city is safe."

"Why? Why isn't it safe! Didn't the text message tell us to stay home and wait for rescue?" the shop owner asked first.

Ye Zhao: "...Intuition."

She couldn't exactly say she had a skill that allowed her to foresee the future, and if she didn't leave now, she never would.

Besides, it was impossible for the city-wide network to be interrupted so quickly; it was clearly man-made.

The authorities didn't want news from City X to get out.

City X was now an isolated island.

The fate of an isolated island was rarely good.

She jumped out the window and ran. After only a few steps, she saw the group of police officers and citizens from before. They hadn't taken the opportunity to leave; instead, they had split into two groups. Some went to the supermarket to move supplies, while the other police officers quickly rushed to the pharmacy for medicine. They weren't greedy, and once they had the items, they quickly returned to the residential complex and locked the iron gate.

One of the police officers saw Ye Zhao and waved at her, "Little girl, come in quickly! It's dangerous out there!"

Ye Zhao caught sight of the pistol tucked into the officer's waist. Her +4 speed allowed her to quickly reach the gate of the complex, where she declined their kindness: "Thank you, Officer, but I'm going home. Take care!"

The police officers:...?

Wait, did you run all this way just to say that?

Then, Ye Zhao ran off under their "you're looking for death" expressions.

[Scan successful: Create Pistol *1, Creation Points required: 1.]

[Scan successful: Create Baton *1, Creation Points required: 1.]

[Scan successful: Create Handcuffs *1, Creation Points required: 1.]

[Scan successful: Create Shield *1, Creation Points required: 1.]

Ye Zhao was satisfied. She reached into her pocket and used her [Creation] talent to create a pistol. The cold touch appeared in her palm, and she took it out to glance at it.

With a gun, her safety had another layer of protection.

Zombies were everywhere, so Ye Zhao simply jumped onto the cars that had crashed together on the road, sprinting across the rooftops and drawing a crowd of zombies to chase and intercept her.

On the way, she encountered a clothing store that had been breached by zombies. Hearing a child crying inside, she paused and jumped down from the car roof.

Fortunately, there weren't many zombies around the shop, and there were only two inside. She didn't hesitate, grabbing a watermelon knife and hacking away. The blade was incredibly sharp, and combined with her speed, she quickly finished off the two zombies. Two more zombies squeezed into the stairwell, but hearing the commotion, they rushed over and were also finished off by her in a few strikes.

After quietly clearing the shop, Ye Zhao went upstairs and knocked on the loose door, saying, "I've cleared the zombies. Can I wear the clothes in your shop? My clothes are covered in blood."

Without waiting for a response from inside, she went downstairs and picked out a black hoodie from the glass-strewn shop to change into. Changing out of her damp clothes made her feel much more comfortable. Avoiding the surveillance cameras, she scanned the sweaters, jackets, pants, socks, and shoes, and also collected a few extra sets of clothes into her Personal Space so she wouldn't have to worry about having no clean clothes in the future.

Although she had skills and didn't worry about a lack of supplies, her Creation Points grew slowly, so she couldn't afford to be wasteful.

Just as she finished packing and was about to leave, the three women upstairs finally came down with clothes hangers and fruit knives. Seeing Ye Zhao, they were both excited and grateful. "Th-thank you for saving us!"

"Sister, can we go with you? I have money, I'll give you all my money!"

"The house is in such a state, we can't keep hiding here..."

Facing their panicked and desperate eyes, Ye Zhao said, "Sorry, I can't. But I know the supermarket at the intersection ahead is taking in survivors. When I leave in a moment, I can lure the zombies away, and you can take the child and go over then."

They looked at each other, hesitant, but eventually agreed to Ye Zhao's proposal. Ye Zhao checked the time on her phone: "You have five minutes to prepare. Pack your things and leave immediately."

A few minutes later, the three women appeared before Ye Zhao with backpacks and a three- or four-year-old child. Ye Zhao pulled three watermelon knives from her backpack. "Take these for self-defense."

"Thank you!" The three of them immediately took them. The woman holding the child said, "Sister, what is your name? If I survive, I will definitely repay you!"

"No need."

The three of them watched as the girl in black pulled a whistle from nowhere. With a few swift strides, she leaped onto the roof of the vehicle, her movements light and graceful, her high ponytail whipping in the wind. As the shrill whistle pierced the air, the zombies wandering nearby immediately gave chase. Watching the swarm of undead follow the girl away, the three exchanged a look and stepped out with grim determination.

Clutching their machetes, the trio sprinted in the opposite direction. They decapitated two zombies that crossed their path until they finally reached the supermarket the girl had mentioned. The police officers guarding the entrance opened the doors to let them in, only relaxing after confirming they had no wounds. "How did you make it here? Was that whistle yours?"

"A kind girl lured the zombies away and saved us..."

"What? Then she's as good as dead!"

"She won't be!" the woman holding the child said firmly. "She's very strong; she won't die!"