The Unbroken Silence

On the second floor, aside from a few zombies wandering near the stairwell, Heming hadn't encountered any other enemies. He really wanted to find out whether there were any survivors left in the building. The second floor had the building's broadcast room, after all. That was where he and Sheni were headed. They needed to check.

Feisu Chinese Network

They had left the gas canisters by a window on the second floor. Once Heming returned, they could figure out how to get them downstairs. For now, the two of them were looking for the broadcast room. If Heming's guess was right, the more important a place was, the more likely they were to encounter a new kind of enemy—or a stronger one.

The Red Monster at the entrance, the advanced chainsaw zombie in the air vent, the advanced cleaver zombies and transparent spider in the kitchen—but why hadn't they encountered any new enemies in the weapon shop? Maybe that was just how things were set up.

Perhaps the broadcast room would have a completely new kind of enemy, too. Would it be like the creatures those people had encountered earlier? Flying ones? They'd have to approach carefully this time. If they really ran into flying enemies, they could only rely on the gun Sheni was carrying and the two daggers on Heming to take them down...

"Sheni, if we run into flying enemies, make sure you aim before shooting. I'll find a way to draw their attention. Try to hit their wings or air sacs—whatever they use to fly. As long as they fall to the ground, they'll be easy to deal with!" Heming explained the plan he had come up with.

Sheni nodded and continued following behind him...

As they drew closer to the broadcast room, they ran into dozens of zombies along the way. Fortunately, Heming was used to dealing with them. It didn't take long for him to dismember them. Sheni was carrying the gun now, with the cleaver hanging at her waist. She wouldn't use it unless she had to...

The door to the broadcast room was open. Heming stood outside and took a quick look inside. There didn't seem to be anything there, so he went in first. Sheni followed him inside.

They looked around, and there didn't seem to be any enemies. Sheni was still watching their surroundings, while Heming was about to reach for the microphone.

"Wait, Ming. Look over there. Isn't there something next to that microphone?" Sheni had noticed the area around it. She thought there seemed to be a pile of tiny things there.

"Ah, Sheni, don't shoot. Those things are invisible. Let's try backing out first. If they follow us, we'll run to the stairwell. I'll use the gas canisters to deal with them." Heming spoke carefully, then slowly backed away.

Once Sheni had come out, Heming saw that the creatures hadn't followed them. They seemed to be asleep. They couldn't use the broadcast system now unless they dealt with them, but they didn't know what the creatures were or how to kill them!

"Ming, I think those things are insects—moths or mosquitoes. If I'm right, they must be afraid of fire. If we can find something to start a fire, we should be able to get rid of them!" Sheni shared her theory.

Heming had wondered if they were moths or something similar, too. But if they used fire, what if they damaged the broadcast equipment? They couldn't worry about that now. If they left the creatures there, they might hurt someone later. They should contact Rie first!

Heming took out his radio and spoke.

"Rie, Rie, this is Heming. Please respond!"

"Heming... this is Rie... go ahead... we're searching the buildings near the police station for survivors..."

"Oh, we've found a new kind of enemy. So far, it seems to live only in the broadcast room, and it's transparent, too. You can make it out if you look closely. I think it's some kind of insect, and fire should be able to kill it. Keep an eye out if you find any!"

"...That's bad... I'll contact you later... some people are heading to the broadcast room on our side... I have to go check on them first..."

Heming put away the radio and went to the floor map by the second-floor landing. He wanted to find somewhere that sold alcohol or something similar. Fortunately, there was a shop specializing in alcohol not far past the broadcast room.

As they walked there, neither Heming nor Sheni ran. They were afraid the noise would wake the creatures, so they could only move quietly.

There weren't any zombies along the way. But when they reached the place Heming had been heading for, he immediately regretted it. A completely new monster was waiting for him and Sheni. Its whole body was surrounded by green gas, and they could just make out the vague shape of a humanoid creature...

"Careful! This thing attacks from a distance!" Heming suddenly shouted!

A spike about a centimeter long shot out of the green gas. It was green, and probably poisonous.

Heming quickly dodged it, drew a dagger, took aim, and threw it with all his strength...

"Whoosh!" The dagger struck the green monster, and it fell to the ground. Sheni watched from behind, speechless. These creatures were growing more numerous and becoming harder and harder to figure out.

Heming went over to the green monster and retrieved his dagger. He had really wanted to see what it looked like, but the creature melted away as soon as it died...

Heming took out his radio again...

"Rie, Rie, if you're busy, you don't have to respond. I've found another new enemy. This one is surrounded by green gas and throws poisonous spikes at you, but it's very fragile. I took it out with a single dagger throw."

"Heming... got it... be careful."

After putting away the radio, Heming went into the shop and started making Molotov cocktails...

Heming took four Molotov cocktails back to the broadcast room. To be safe, both of them stayed outside...

"Bang, bang!" Two Molotov cocktails landed inside the broadcast room and exploded. A tremendous noise and a burst of flames instantly filled the room...

Once the flames died down, Heming went inside. Just as he'd expected, the creatures had been burned to nothing, and the broadcast equipment hadn't been damaged.

After making a few adjustments, Heming picked up the microphone...

"Hello, hello. If anyone is still in this building, please come to the first-floor lobby. There are two of us here, and we've figured out how to get out."

"We can wait for you for an hour. If no one comes, we'll take care of the zombies outside the front entrance and break through the doors."

"If there are any survivors, please come to the first-floor lobby as soon as possible."

In the first-floor lobby, Heming and Sheni waited anxiously. The chances of anyone coming were very slim, but they had no choice. Every extra person meant more strength...

"Heming... Heming... phew... do you copy?" Rie's voice suddenly came through the radio.

"This is Heming. I hear you, Rie. Go ahead!"

"We've found the strongest enemy so far... they look exactly like humans... they can chat with you, fight zombies on their own... give you information... and use guns... right now, there's only one way to tell them apart... they can't turn their heads... if you call out to them from behind, they'll turn around... but they can't turn their heads..."

Heming didn't reply. He watched as Sheni drew her Japanese sword and said, "Turn around. Quickly."

Sheni did as Heming said and turned around, then turned her head back again...

Seeing Sheni turn her head made Heming feel much more at ease...

"I understand. Be careful, too. We'll be out of this building soon, and then I'll get to the police station as quickly as I can."

"Okay... talk later..."

Heming and Sheni continued waiting. Just as Heming was about to apologize for asking Sheni to do that, she smiled and waved him off. She understood what he had been thinking.

An hour passed, and sure enough, no one came...

Heming and Sheni had no choice but to go to the second floor. They threw the prepared gas canisters some distance away. There were a lot of zombies below, but they didn't have to worry about the canisters exploding from the impact. They threw all four canisters apart, then Heming ran back to the alcohol shop and made a few Molotov cocktails.

They tried to throw the Molotov cocktails as far as possible, toward the intersection. That way, after the explosions, the zombies couldn't run in from outside or get out...

A tremendous noise... Heming threw all the Molotov cocktails, and then it was time to fire.

Sheni hit a gas canister with a single shot. "Bang, bang, bang, bang!" All four gas canisters exploded...

Feisu Chinese Network