ALL NOVEL CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 31: A Change of Plans
The hunter incident had lifted a weight off Lu Ming’s shoulders. No longer was he confined to the basement, forced to rely on a filtered window for his daily dose of sunlight. Not bad, not bad at all.
With a sense of accomplishment, he finished meticulously sorting through the scavenged supplies before retiring for the night. His pajamas were on, and sleep beckoned when the doorbell’s shrill cry shattered the peace.
He approached the electronic screen, his eyes widening at the sight greeting him. Wang Xiong’s jovial face filled the frame, a look of panic etched across it.
“Brother, zombies! The noise we made earlier attracted them!”
Lu Ming’s muscles tensed. Zombies. Danger. Even with the Tier 2 hunter vanquished, he didn’t dare underestimate any undead threat. Every ordinary zombie possessed the potential to evolve, to become something monstrous. The Tier 2 hunter was a grim reminder of this terrifying reality. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrors that might emerge in the future.
“Got it,” he replied tersely. “Hold on.”
“Wait, Brother Lu,” Wang Xiong interjected, his voice tight with urgency. “I don’t want you to hold on. I need you to run with us.”
“Run? No way. You want to run, be my guest.” With a decisive flick of his wrist, he deactivated the screen and stomped up the stairs.
He found himself standing in the wreckage of his slingshot and bow. The slingshot backups were still intact, but his once-reliable ranged weapon was beyond repair. It didn’t matter, not anymore. He pushed the window open, a blast of cold night air washing over him.
Moonlight illuminated the street below, the scene playing out like a macabre dance. The zombies, drawn by the commotion, surged forward in a mindless, hungry horde. He peered down at his front door, surprised to see Wang Xiong and a group of others forming a makeshift barricade. Trash cans and sandbags formed a haphazard line of defense, and at the forefront stood Wang Xiong and a woman with a determined glint in her eyes, both wielding axes and machetes, prepared for a brutal close-quarters fight.
Wang Xiong, alerted by the creaking window, glanced upwards and spotted Lu Ming.
“Brother,” he called out, his voice strained. “Open the door, let us in!”
Lu Ming furrowed his brow. This was absurd.
“What kind of dream are you having?” he retorted.
“There’s nowhere to run, Brother Lu,” Wang Xiong pleaded helplessly. “The entire horde is here. Please, open the door and let us hide inside.”
“Why do you want to enter my house?” Lu Ming demanded, his voice laced with suspicion. “Are you delusional? This place is fortified!”
Before he could unleash a torrent of expletives, the woman beside Wang Xiong intervened.
“Mr. Lu,” she addressed him firmly, “don’t concern yourself with us. Just keep the door close. We can handle this ourselves.” She then turned to glare at Wang Xiong, her voice dropping to a low hiss.
“Mr. Lu, opening the door. Do you think you can fight off these zombies? Do you even have the capability? It’ll take mere seconds for Brother Lu to dispatch dozens of them from the second floor. Wasting time opening the door for you is ridiculous!”
“Besides,” she continued, her chin held high, “with Mr. Lu here, what’s there to be afraid of? I’m a woman, and even I’m not scared. So what’s your excuse?!”
Wang Xiong stood there, bewildered, caught in Zhang Chengcheng's sudden insult.
Before he could even formulate a response, Lu Ming, perched on the second floor, sprang into action.
Lu Ming’s Level 10 Slingshot wasn’t just a weapon; it provided him with an additional 5.5 agility points and enhanced his mastery over the weapon. Moreover, he had already tested its limits—one more shot wouldn’t risk damaging it.
Snap! Snap!
The approaching horde of zombies presented a dire situation. Speed was paramount. Three shots per second was child’s play for the strengthened Lu Ming.
A relentless barrage of projectiles filled the air. Any undead creature foolish enough to approach within thirty meters of the building found itself swiftly eliminated by Lu Ming’s precision. Even the hulking, grotesque corpse couldn’t withstand his assault.
The battle with the hunter had indeed drawn a wave of zombies, but the labyrinthine layout of Good Hope Village effectively muted the sounds of conflict.
The approaching horde wasn’t a massive wave, but rather a few hundred strong.
With his three-shot-per-second rhythm, even accounting for the occasional miss, Lu Ming projected a five-minute window for complete victory.
The scene outside the window was now a gruesome tableau—a carpet of lifeless corpses, the stench of decay thick in the air. Lu Ming flexed his slightly stiff wrist and activated his attribute panel. The display confirmed his progress:
- Slingshot Lv11 (386/1100)
His agility had also increased by 1.1 points, bringing his total to 28.5. Apparently, zombie eradication was still the key to further improvement.
He turned to close the window, but a thought struck him. Addressing the stunned crowd below, he offered a simple, “Good night.”
It wasn’t meant as rudeness, but rather a statement of finality. The night’s events, though exhilarating for Wang Xiong and his companions, were now over.
The zombie horde slammed into the Zhang family’s stronghold, reducing it to rubble in a matter of moments. Wang Xiong, forced to abandon his plan of escape with Lu Ming, witnessed the unexpected turn of events—Lu Ming, single-handedly decimated the hunter and hundreds of zombies.
Zhang Chengcheng’s words echoed in their ears—harsh, but true. While Lu Ming remained barricaded inside, the others hadn’t dared to engage in close combat. They had been mere spectators as the undead were methodically dispatched, harvested like wheat before a hungry scythe. The overwhelming power made it impossible for them to even approach the battlefield.
“Is he even human?!” a survivor named Yang Guan murmured, his voice tinged with awe and a hint of terror. Lu Ming’s prowess had shattered their understanding of human capability.
Wang Xiong and his companions were rendered speechless. Finally, Wang Xiong mumbled, proposing a course of action. “Let’s head to the village entrance, secure the military vehicles and weapons, and then make our way downtown...”
“Downtown?” Zhang Chengcheng interjected, cutting him off. Her gaze, unwavering as she looked away from Lu Ming’s window, held a glint of determination.
“If you’re set on going to the city center, be my guest. I’m not coming.”
A weighty silence descended.
“Here, with Mr. Lu,” she continued, her voice resolute, “feels safer than any shelter they could offer.”
Wang Xiong and the others gaped at her newfound conviction. Zhang Chengcheng elaborated,
“Besides, wasn’t your old shelter here in Good Hope Village?”
Wang Xiong, bewildered, nodded in response. Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Chengcheng pressed on.
“Which house is tidier?”
Wang Xiong pointed toward a house that had been meticulously cleaned. Without further ado, Zhang Chengcheng marched off toward it, the other three survivors from the Zhang family stronghold trailing after her without hesitation.
Left behind were Wang Xiong, Zhang Lixin, and Dr. Meng Jie, their faces etched with confusion. Wang Xiong directed a question at Zhang Lixin.
“Didn’t we agree on a plan? Why are you staying?”
Dr. Meng Jie, deep in thought, finally spoke up. “While escaping Good Hope Village was the initial priority,” she admitted, “Lu Ming’s strength is undeniably extraordinary.”
She turned to face Wang Xiong, a new perspective dawning on her. “Zhang Chengcheng makes a valid point. With only three of us remaining, even acquiring military vehicles and weapons wouldn’t guarantee a safe journey to the city center shelter.”
The horrors of the zombie threat were no longer lost on Dr. Meng Jie. The prospect of navigating a potential zombie tide, or worse, encountering another hunter, was a terrifying reality. Military vehicles and machine guns would be mere toys against such adversaries.
A realization dawned on Dr. Meng Jie, prompting her to change her mind definitively. “Let’s stay,” she declared firmly. Her gaze drifted toward Lu Ming’s house, another thought taking root.
“Furthermore,” she continued, her voice filled with curiosity, “I’m utterly fascinated by the source of Mr. Lu’s power. He surpasses a Level 2 Awakened by a significant margin, yet I haven’t seen him collect any corpse crystals.”
This was a novel avenue, a research topic with immense potential. A premonition washed over Dr. Meng Jie. The value of investigating Lu Ming’s abilities far outweighed the pursuit of a distant shelter in the city center.
End of Chapter 31