"Whoosh—" The rain quickly turned from light to heavy, instantly becoming a downpour.
Zhao Lian checked the fish hanging under the eaves and found that the rain couldn't reach them, which put her at ease. As she turned around, she saw Zhou Quchuan standing behind her.
"Are you going to sleep in separate rooms with me?" Zhou Quchuan asked.
Zhao Lian "ummed" in her heart, thinking why did his words sound so awkward?
"We will be living here for a few months, it's not convenient to stay in one room. Besides, we are just staying next door, so we can call out for each other in case of anything," Zhou Quchuan said.
"But I think it's better for us to sleep in the same room. Although this place looks remote, it's better to be safe than sorry. If there's a sudden emergency one day, it would be more convenient for us to take care of each other. And I have considered opening a hidden escape passage on the roof. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, we can escape together from the passage," Zhou Quchuan said with a sincere tone and clear eyes, seemingly making plans for their safety.
Zhao Lian was about to say something when, as if to confirm Zhou Quchuan's words, a strange howling sound suddenly faintly came from outside amidst the sound of the heavy rain.
Her face changed, and she gestured to Zhou Quchuan not to make a sound. She quietly led him to the door and looked outside through the crack.
In the blurry rain, three staggering figures came from the same direction, their movements awkward and unnatural, and they were continuously making strange howling sounds. It was clear that they were zombies.
Most zombies have poor vision, but they have sensitive hearing and smell. However, these three zombies seemed to have accidentally wandered here after being separated.
Because they tended to gather when they walked, the three of them began to wander aimlessly around the yard after arriving.
Zhao Lian and Zhou Quchuan exchanged a glance and silently mouthed to each other, "Get weapons."
Zhou Quchuan nodded, and together they crouched down, grabbing the axe and machete leaning against the wall.
The next step was to figure out how to kill these three zombies.
Fortunately, these three zombies seemed to be just basic infected individuals, with their speed and strength still within the range of ordinary people. As long as they weren't surrounded by them, it wouldn't be too difficult to kill them separately.
However, there was also a second option, which was to wait.
As long as they hid in this room and the zombies couldn't find fresh blood to feed on, they would naturally leave.
Zhao Lian and Zhou Quchuan pressed against the wall, unconsciously reducing their breathing. Because the windows of the room were transparent and damaged, so as long as the zombies passed by, they could be seen. Thus, they had to stand against the wall like this.
After exchanging gestures and mouthing some words, they decided to wait for a while. After all, there were three zombies on the other side, and there were only two of them. It was risky to try to kill all of them, so it was better to wait, perhaps the zombies would leave soon?
There was no sign of the rain lessening outside, and the rain completely masked the footsteps of the three zombies. Zhao Lian could only determine their position by the occasional howls coming from their mouths.
After a while, she felt Zhou Quchuan touch her, she glanced at him, shook her head, and grabbed his hand to write three words in his palm: "Continue to wait."
After waiting for about half an hour, the rain finally started to diminish. Zhao Lian listened intently and seemed to no longer hear any movement from the outside zombies. Had they left?
She quietly walked to the door and looked outside through the crack. From this angle, she couldn’t see the zombies in the courtyard.
However, just as she was about to heave a sigh of relief, a large, rotten and terrifying face suddenly appeared in front of her, and a pair of slightly reddish eyes met hers unexpectedly!
Zhao Lian was startled and took two steps back. A thought flashed through her mind: "Red-eyed, a sign of imminent evolution into a second-tier zombie 'runner'!"
Before she could finish this thought, the door was forcefully banged, and the latch was almost opened. Outside, the sound of the zombie's mad howling when it discovered its prey could be heard!
Zhao Lian didn't expect that the two of them would be so unlucky, as they were randomly wandering near here, and one of them was about to evolve into a second-tier creature!
The basic zombies were called infected individuals, and in terms of speed and strength, they were barely different from ordinary humans. Most of the time, their movements were slow, and if they didn't feed for a few days, they would become weak. They also had weak points similar to those of humans, and could be killed by stabbing or hitting certain vulnerable areas.
However, once they evolved into second-tier "runners," things changed. Not only did their speed and strength notably increase, but most terrifyingly, they were like a perpetually running machine on stimulants, and they wouldn't stop unless their prey was torn apart. At the same time, the weak points on their bodies became less obvious, and only by cutting off their heads or smashing them could they be killed!
The enhanced zombie had a sense of smell much keener than the first tier zombies, it probably hadn’t noticed them before due to the heavy downpour, but coincidentally, when the rain lessened, it had just wandered near the door and immediately caught Zhao Lian's scent.
"Run from the window! Quickly!" Zhao Lian shouted and ran towards the window, but before she could reach it, a zombie rushed over and violently collided with the glass. With the sound of the glass shattering, the upper body of the zombie had already rushed in due to inertia!
Zhao Lian raised the knife and struck, and with a fierce blow to the zombie's head, it was killed. Unfortunately, the machete got stuck in its skull and couldn’t be pulled out for a while!
At that moment, another zombie appeared at the window, reaching out to grab Zhao Lian. She was forced to release the machete, and Zhou Quchuan rushed up and chopped the zombie's face with an axe, knocking it down.
Meanwhile, the door made a loud noise as the latch broke, and the soon-to-be-evolved zombie finally burst in!
Seeing this zombie rushing at great speed, Zhao Lian had no choice but to release the machete handle and dodge.
Zhou Quchuan turned around and chopped at the zombie, but only hit its shoulder. The zombie was not aware of pain, and the injury on its shoulder did not hinder its movements. Zhou Quchuan narrowly avoided its attack and ran toward the door.
It seemed that this zombie was drawn to Zhou Quchuan due to the blow, and it began running after him, roaring wildly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Lian quickly pulled out the stuck machete, and with all her strength, stabbed the zombie in the belly, then twisted her wrist to pull out the blade, causing the zombie to collapse and die.
After retrieving the knife, Zhao Lian rushed out of the door and saw Zhou Quchuan being pinned down by the soon-to-evolve zombie, using his axe to fend off the zombie's bite.
Rushing over, Zhao Lian put all her strength into a strike, feeling as though she had struck a hard piece of wood.
Fortunately, as the zombie was just about to evolve, its muscles and skeletal defenses were not as extreme as they would be when fully evolved. With her full force, Zhao Lian severed most of the zombie's neck, leaving only a bit of flesh clinging to it.
Struggling to push the lifeless zombie aside, Zhou Quchuan stood up, shaking his head to assure Zhao Lian that he was uninjured.
It was still drizzling outside, and the two of them, after experiencing a scary battle, suddenly burst into laughter while looking at each other in the rain.
After the rain stopped, they dragged the zombies' bodies to the edge of the woods and began to dig a grave to bury them.
Before burying them, they cut off the heads of the three zombies, just in case.
In fact, burning them directly would have been the best option, but they didn't have any gasoline, and using firewood to burn them would have been too much trouble. Moreover, it would have made too much noise, so burying them on the spot was the best option.
After doing all this, it was already late, and the two of them returned to the main house, changed into a dry set of clothes, and started to prepare dinner again.
Dinner was fish soup and grilled fish, which was taken care of by Zhou Quchuan, letting Zhao Lian see his unexpected culinary skills.
After finishing a warm bowl of fish soup and eating a delicious grilled fish, Zhao Lian felt comfortable and her anxious thoughts from the previous battle settled down.
However, through this incident, she also realized that Zhou Quchuan's suggestion of sleeping in the same room was correct, as danger can strike silently. It would indeed be difficult for the two of them to cope if they were not together.
In such a special environment, there was no room for any pretense.
After dinner, the two of them moved a single bed from a nearby room, so no one had to sleep on the floor.
That night, the heavy rain continued, but by the early next morning, the rain stopped and the sun reappeared with its scorching heat.
Zhao Lian woke up in the morning and walked out of the room to see two rainbows hanging in the sky, one very clear and the other a little dimmer, vibrant and beautiful.
Perhaps due to the heavy rain in the middle of the night, the air was extremely fresh, carrying the fragrance of the grass, making it very pleasant.
As footsteps approached, Zhou Quchuan also came out. Zhao Lian pointed to the sky and said, "Look at the rainbow."
Zhou Quchuan stood beside her and admired it. "It's very beautiful, isn't it?" Zhao Lian said, "I feel like I haven't seen a rainbow in a long time."
Zhou Quchuan turned to look at her, seeing her profile under the morning sunlight, looking fair and elegant. He said, "Indeed, it's very beautiful," whether he was referring to the rainbow in the sky or her profile.
After admiring for a while, the faint rainbow gradually disappeared, and the clear one also started to fade. Zhao Lian patted Zhou Quchuan's shoulder and said, "Let's go, get ready to work. I heard that seeing a rainbow in the morning might indicate rain today. We need to get some work done before it rains."
"Okay, I'll join you in chopping wood today," Zhou Quchuan said, "I've learned to set traps before. When I gather some tools later, it might come in handy."