Chapter Three: Please Wait for Me

Zhou Yu searched every inch of the zombie’s corpse but failed to find the car keys. He then began rummaging through the house, but still came up empty-handed.

Sighing, he thought, Forget it, I’ll check someone else’s place.

Just as Zhou Yu was about to give up, he spotted the keys on the shoe rack by the door and was instantly dumbfounded.

Damn, how could I be so stupid and forget about the shoe rack?

Walking over, Zhou Yu grabbed the keys and headed outside. After a few steps, he suddenly turned back. He returned to the zombie’s house and peered out the window. Outside, the same few zombies wandered aimlessly up and down the street.

What am I supposed to do now?

They were all not far from the supermarket, and the car was parked right at the entrance. If he walked over now, he’d be throwing his life away.

How could he draw their attention away?

Zhou Yu racked his brain in frustration.

After a while, still unable to think of a solution, he decided to head home and fix himself something to eat.

Suddenly, a thought from a novel flashed through his mind: zombies were afraid of fire.

With that, Zhou Yu started searching his room for sticks, rags, and cooking oil.

After some searching, he found a tub of corn oil, three rags, a mop handle, an old walking stick, and a wooden children’s toy.

Thinking these weren’t enough, he turned back to his room, took the bedsheet, and wrapped everything up before heading home.

Back at his own place, Zhou Yu continued to gather supplies.

Once everything was assembled, he got to work—soaking the rags in oil, wrapping them around various sticks. The whole process took nearly an hour.

Afterward, Zhou Yu went to the kitchen to wash his hands, wiped them on his clothes, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Exhaling a plume of smoke, he muttered, “I need to hurry. If I don’t get moving, it’ll be dark by the time I reach her place. I have no idea what it’s like over there—nightfall would make things a lot trickier.”

Clenching the cigarette between his teeth, Zhou Yu picked up the homemade torches and walked over to the window, opening it.

He flicked the cigarette out and began shouting, “Hey, you damned zombies! I’m right here! If you’ve got the guts, come and try to bite me!”

His shout echoed with authority.

The zombies heard him and began to shuffle slowly toward the window beneath him.

After waiting a while, Zhou Yu figured enough had gathered. He took two of his torches, lit them, and a column of black smoke rose, making him cough violently.

“Damn it, how was I supposed to know these things would spew out black smoke?” he swore.

Looking down at the zombies, he called out, “Hey, you monsters, I’ll finish you off!”

With that, he hurled the torches down.

Howls and shrieks rose from below.

The zombies’ clothes caught fire from the torches, their pained roars echoing up to him.

Zhou Yu didn’t hesitate—he lit more torches and threw them down, one after another, until all his makeshift weapons were gone.

Elated, he shouted, “You thought you could kill me? Go train for a couple more years and try again, you idiots! Hahaha!”

Watching the zombies writhe and howl in agony, Zhou Yu shouldered his backpack, hefted the large machete onto his shoulder, and swaggered downstairs, looking every bit the gangster from the 1950s or 60s.

He ignored the burning, writhing zombies on the ground and headed straight for the supermarket.

At the entrance, he pulled out the key, opened the rolling shutter, and stepped inside.

Once in, Zhou Yu realized it wasn’t safe to leave the door open—this wasn’t the stairwell, and on the street, a stray zombie could wander in while he was busy gathering supplies. That could be disastrous.

Thinking this, he turned back and pulled the shutter down.

With the door secured, Zhou Yu headed for the counter. Seeing the cigarettes piled up, he looked like a starving wolf eyeing a lamb.

After grabbing a few packs, he realized it wasn’t enough. He found a shopping cart and started tossing in the most expensive brands—anything top-shelf, he took. Before long, the cart was full. Zhou Yu figured it was enough and moved on.

He fetched another cart and headed to the food section, quickly filling it with all sorts of chocolate and instant meals.

Next, he grabbed a third cart, loading it with rice, flour, oil, and various seasonings.

Even then, he felt it wasn’t quite enough. He fetched a small cart and filled it with bottled water.

He pushed all the carts to the shuttered entrance, then went back to exchange his backpack for a large hiking pack. While swapping bags, he noticed sleeping bags nearby and grabbed two double-sized ones without hesitation. Once everything was packed, he slung the hiking bag and the two sleeping bags over his shoulders and headed for the door.

Passing the daily necessities section, he suddenly remembered that his ex-girlfriend was probably on her period these days, so he grabbed two packs of sanitary pads.

At the shutter, he opened it, pushed the carts toward the large Japanese SUV where he’d first killed a zombie.

Unlocking the trunk with the key, Zhou Yu began tossing everything inside. In short order, all the goods were loaded.

Seeing there was still some space, he dashed back into the supermarket and came out with another cart—more water, rice, flour, oil, and seasonings.

Once everything was finally packed, he got in the car, started the engine, shifted gears, and drove east out of the city.

His heart whispered, Nian Yu, my dear, wait for me. Please, wait for me—I’m coming to get you.