Chapter 2: Crisis Averted
, 140 meters long, with two turns in the middle.
stacked the surveillance feeds and looked at them three times, marking the locations of seventeen zombies.
Some were crouching at the corners chewing on cable sheathing; some were circling in place in the middle of the corridor; two more were blocking the door, banging their heads against the iron door one after another.
The screen refreshed:
[ contains a total of seventeen individuals: two at the door, twelve scattered in the corridor, and three inside the ventilation ducts.]
[The plan is as follows: Step one, I open B3 and use the broadcast to lure the zombies in the corridor toward the abandoned warehouse.
Step two, you pass through while there's a gap.
Step three, you beat to death the two at the door.]
finished reading and looked up at the camera.
"Two against one? Me?"
[I'll help you. Trust me, you'll win.]
"Okay, if you hadn't added those last three words, I'd feel a lot better."
thought it over, then finally decided to take the gamble.
"Let's go."
activated the motor on B3. Old gears ground together, and the door rose slowly, making a harsh metallic screech.
In the corridor, all twelve zombies turned their heads at once.
counted three seconds in his mind, then switched on the only two remaining speakers in .
The speakers blasted static, followed by an off-key safety production recording: "—Safety is no small matter; responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai—"
The sound came from the direction of the warehouse, bouncing again and again through the empty corridor.
The pack began to move, sprinting toward the sound.
They were very sensitive to sound, but their eyesight was not very good.
stared at the feeds, calculating the spacing, until most of them had been drawn away.
The screen flashed:
[Keep to the right wall now. Run.]
slipped out of the maintenance room door.
The corridor smelled of a mix of rot and rust. She suppressed the sound of her footsteps and moved quickly along the right wall.
Luckily, the second section of the corridor was empty.
Toolboxes and overturned file cabinets lay scattered on the floor; sidestepped around them.
But her sole still stepped on broken glass, making a faint crunch.
Just then, sounds came from behind her.
She spun around at once and saw two or three zombies squeezing out of the duty room nearby.
cursed in his mind in that instant—the surveillance camera there was broken, so he hadn't spotted them in time.
At this moment, the zombies that had squeezed out saw and immediately lunged at her like mad dogs.
In the blink of an eye, they were less than five meters away.
didn't hesitate. The nearest launched itself directly and slammed into the 's ankle.
Bang.
The lost its balance and fell, tripping the one behind it.
No reminder was needed. turned around and ran.
At the door, the two zombies were still banging on the door.
Hearing footsteps, they turned at the same time.
One wore work clothes, with safety goggles still on its face, one lens cracked in half.
The other was short and stocky, work pants stained with dried black blood, mouth open wide enough to see rotting flesh deep in its throat.
didn't slow down. She steeled herself, swung the in a full circle, and hurled it.
The hooked end precisely caught the white-coated around the neck. Using the momentum of her run, she yanked hard.
The was pulled down, the back of its head hitting the wall with a dull thud.
The stocky lunged. dodged to the side, pulled back the , and brought it down in a backhanded blow.
The first strike was off target.
The grazed the 's shoulder, tearing a gash in the fabric of its work pants. The grabbed the other end of the .
didn't play tug-of-war.
She let go quickly, stepped back, and kicked the in the knee.
A crisp crack came as the joint bent backward. The dropped to its knees.
She snatched the back and brought it straight down. The steel split open the skull and sank three cun deep.
The white-coated one was getting up. rotated the fixed above the . The gripper descended from the ceiling, clamped onto the 's head, and pressed it toward the ground.
followed up with another blow.
The corridor fell silent.
leaned against the door, shoulders heaving, her knuckles covered in black blood splattered from the zombies.
She lowered her head to look at her hand, then calmly wiped it on her pant leg.
The screen lit up: