The Zombies Are Attacking?

[29]29: Zombie siege? Night wind tousled Jin Zhaoye's falling hair, a few strands drifting to her face, clinging to the corner of her lips.

She raised a hand to tidy it, tucking those stray hairs behind her ear. While doing this, she didn't look at Xie Li, and her question was casual, as if it didn't matter whether Xie Li went or not.

Xie Li tilted her head, looking at Jin Zhaoye's clean, refined profile: 'Do you want me to come with you guys?' 'Didn't you say we're teammates?' Jin Zhaoye didn't answer the question directly, yet somehow it felt as if she already had. Xie Li grinned, her teeth no longer aching, a sweetness welling up in her heart.

'Wait while I ask Lan Ran, then I'll tell you whether to go or not.' She stood up and quickly ran toward Lan Ran and the others in the corner. Actually, she had already made up her mind—she had to go.

But as cannon fodder, she needed to save face; she wanted to play coy, just for a moment. Xie Li ran to Lan Ran's side, crouched down, and lowered her voice to ask if she wanted to travel with her goddess and pick up her mother along the way.

The answer was obvious—Lan Ran would never refuse this proposal. Her eyes lit up like lightbulbs, and she nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Yu and the others, hearing that Xie Li and Jin Zhaoye were leaving, hurried over, saying they wanted to come along. 'Alright, then let's all go together.' Xie Li agreed with full confidence—she had stockpiled so much food, she wasn't worried about a few extra mouths to feed.

'Tomorrow morning we'll go to the Parking Lot and pick out a few more cars.' After saying this, Xie Li couldn't wait to run back and sit down beside Jin Zhaoye, moving so fast she could compete for seats on a rush-hour subway. Jin Zhaoye tilted her head to glance at her: 'What did they say?' 'They all said that only by following the brilliant and mighty Lord Xie Li would they feel more secure.' Xie Li made it up on the spot, her face unable to suppress a smile.

Jin Zhaoye only smiled without speaking. Xie Li felt embarrassed being watched like that, cleared her throat, and said seriously: 'We need to rest early, tomorrow we still need to find a few more cars, otherwise we can't fit so many people.' 'Mm, let's rest early.' After saying this, Jin Zhaoye closed her eyes, her breathing gradually becoming long and steady.

Xie Li leaned close to her, shoulder to shoulder, secretly looked at Jin Zhaoye's profile for a while, then closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep. The hall gradually quieted down, leaving only the rising and falling sounds of breathing. ......

The night deepened, the dim sky outside the window gradually began to change. Brilliant light spread from the horizon, purple, green, red, blue rays of various colors flowing and churning across the sky, illuminating the entire city like a dream.

At the same time, in the city's streets and alleys, the cars abandoned by the roadside began to beep and honk. Various alarm sounds gathered together, echoing over the city.

The quietly slumbering Zombies were startled awake, beginning to rampage through the streets, searching for the source of the noise. Various Mutant creatures also darted out from corners, sprinting through the city streets, launching attacks on the cars by the roadside.

On the third floor of Jingfeng Building, the sleeping crowd woke one after another. Xie Li opened her eyes, rubbed them, her gaze landing first on Jin Zhaoye.

'Why is it so noisy outside? Zombie siege?' Jin Zhaoye's expression was somewhat grave. She lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out the window, the multicolored light flowing across her face.

Not getting a response, Xie Li also leaned over to look, and was immediately shocked by the scene outside. 'How can there be auroras here?' She was so surprised she couldn't keep her voice down.

'This isn't an aurora.' Jin Zhaoye explained, 'It's a solar storm. The charged particle stream produced by coronal mass interacts with Blue Star's magnetic field, generating a large-scale geomagnetic storm.

This light is the phenomenon produced by high-energy particles rubbing against the atmosphere.' 'Oh.' Xie Li responded vaguely. What storm, what magnetic storm, what is all this?

How come she couldn't understand any of it? She only cared about one question: 'Why are those cars outside still honking?

Is it also related to this aurora?' Jin Zhaoye nodded: 'The car alarms are because the electronic components were burned out by electromagnetic pulses. A strong geomagnetic storm will induce currents in the power grid and communication lines, burning out transformers and electronic equipment.

In other words, the power systems across the country should have already collapsed.' Xie Li was somewhat enlightened. The book only mentioned power outages, not why they occurred.

Is this the novel worldview's automatic completion? She asked: 'Will these cars also be affected?' 'Most of them can't be driven.

Modern cars rely on electronic control units; once the ECU is burned out, they're scrap.' Jin Zhaoye paused, 'But old mechanical diesel vehicles, military pickup trucks, or those without complex electronic systems can still run.' (Note) While the two were quietly exchanging words, Bai Jingning, who had been resting in the private room, had already quickly walked toward them.

Her beautiful face rarely showed a hint of anxiety: 'Dr. Jin, there's a large group of Zombies gathering downstairs, the Zombies upstairs are also getting restless.

What's happening outside?' Jin Zhaoye withdrew her gaze from the window, landing on Bai Jingning, her tone steady: 'Bai Zong, have your people gather supplies. We need to be prepared to break out at any time.' Hearing this, Bai Jingning silently nodded and turned to leave, to arrange subsequent matters.

Jin Zhaoye turned her gaze, sweeping over those faces in the hall scurrying around like headless chickens, at a loss. She walked to the center of the hall, raising her voice slightly: 'Everyone listen to me.

We're temporarily safe. Don't panic, and don't make too much noise.' The anxious crowd all quieted down, their gazes landing on Jin Zhaoye in unison.

'Dr. Jin, the Zombies upstairs are charging down. What should we do?' someone asked quietly. Jin Zhaoye's gaze fell on the person who asked: 'All the Zombies and Mutant creatures in the city are restless, not just the ones on our floor.

Now, I need everyone to move. Block the doors and windows to prevent Zombies from breaking in.' The panicked crowd seemed to have found a backbone.

Everyone moved quietly, shifting tables and chairs to block the doors and windows. The hall was still chaotic, but it was a different kind of chaos from before.

Xie Li stood by the window, looking at Jin Zhaoye's back, remembering the first time they met. Back then, she had also pulled Xie Li into a supermarket like this, calm and decisive, as if the sky were falling she wouldn't panic.

At the time, Xie Li had thought this person was amazing, both a fighter and cool. Now she felt that this person was not just amazing, but had some indescribable quality—perhaps this was what they called personal charisma?

Jin Zhaoye seemed to sense her gaze and turned her head. The moment their eyes met, Jin Zhaoye's expression suddenly changed, the calm on her face transforming into panic and urgency.

'Xie Li, run!!!' Xie Li's body moved before her brain registered, and as she ran she glanced back. Outside the window, a giant Mutant Bird clung to the glass curtain wall, its body pitch black, with only a pair of eyes reflecting the multicolored light from the sky above, like two swaying ghost fires.

The Mutant Bird spread its wings, nearly covering the entire wall. Its iron-hook-like claws dug deep into the glass seams, and the curtain wall was already covered in cracks.

Seeing Xie Li flee, the Mutant Bird swung its head, its sharp beak aimed at the glass, and pecked hard. With a crack, a large hole was smashed open in the glass curtain wall, and shattered glass flew toward them.

Xie Li raised her hand to shield her face. The windbreaker sleeve was scratched with several white marks, fragments slid past her arm and fell to the ground with a clatter.

The Mutant Bird didn't stop, raised its beak, and pecked at the curtain wall again. Crack, another hole, peck again, shatter again.

The entire wall was trembling, cracks constantly spreading, glass shards splashing everywhere, screams of terror continuously rising in the hall. Jin Zhaoye ran toward Xie Li, raising her voice: 'Xie Li, give me the gun.' Xie Li's mind moved, and she pulled a handgun from her Space, tossing it toward her.

The handgun arced through the air, and Jin Zhaoye reached out to catch it. The moment she caught the gun, she pulled back the slide, chambered a round, took aim—a series of movements flowing like water, so fast they almost left afterimages, like a fast-cut movie scene.

Jin Zhaoye, holding the gun, brushed past Xie Li. The hem of her shirt stirred up a gust of wind, blowing against Xie Li's wildly beating heart.

Jin Zhaoye held the gun in her right hand, supported the grip with her left, aimed at the Mutant Bird's eyes, and fired two shots in quick succession. Bang!

Bang! The gunshots echoed in the empty hall. If there were bullet time at this moment, everyone present would see two 9mm copper-jacketed bullets spin out of the barrel, pass through the hole in the curtain wall, the first bullet shooting into the Mutant Bird's eye, piercing the iris, shattering the lens.

The second bullet followed closely, but was blocked by the Mutant Bird's blinking eyelid—that thin membrane like a piece of rubber, bouncing the bullet off. The Mutant Bird let out a deafening shriek, blood spraying from its blinded eye socket.

It flapped its wings wildly, its iron-hook claws warping the window frame, the remaining eye burning with fury, staring fixedly at the figure holding the gun by the window. Jin Zhaoye pulled the trigger again, the bullet whistled through the hole, shooting toward that intact eye.

The Mutant Bird suddenly shook its head, the bullet grazed its eyelid and flew past, knocking off a few feathers. It shrieked angrily, its massive wings suddenly flapping, and the spider-webbed glass curtain wall collapsed with a crash.

The Mutant Bird squeezed through the hole into the room, spread its wings, and lunged at Jin Zhaoye, but overshot, crashing into the wall. The room immediately erupted in earth-shattering screams, everyone fleeing toward the depths of the hall, tables and chairs overturning, things scattering everywhere.

Xie Li and Ning Meng and the others, gripping weapons, ran against the flow of people toward the Mutant Bird. The Mutant Bird didn't bother with those fleeing people, it turned around and lunged at Jin Zhaoye again.

Jin Zhaoye sidestepped, dodging the Mutant Bird's strike. The Mutant Bird's sharp iron beak grazed her shoulder, tearing off a large chunk of the wall behind her.

Jin Zhaoye threw herself on the ground, rolled twice, steadied herself, and fired two more shots, hitting the Mutant Bird's soft belly. The Mutant Bird, in pain, suddenly turned its head, wings flailing wildly, glass shards flying in the room, tables and chairs being flipped over a wide area.

Blinded in one eye, its dynamic balance was broken, its attacks lost accuracy, its beak pecked randomly, gouging hole after hole in the floor, never able to touch Jin Zhaoye's figure. Jin Zhaoye hid behind an overturned table, glass shards clattering down on top, she curled up, avoiding this series of attacks.

After that wave of attacks passed, she raised her head, her gaze piercing through the chaotic battlefield, locking onto Xie Li's position. 'Xie Li, catch the gun.' She tossed the gun toward Xie Li, and grabbed an iron hammer from the ground.

Xie Li reached out to catch it, aimed at the Mutant Bird, and fired several shots in succession. The Mutant Bird was forced back a few steps, its pursuit slightly impeded.

Jin Zhaoye took the opportunity to climb up, dart out from behind the table, swung the iron hammer and leaped up, the hammer head smashing into the beak, sending up a shower of sparks. The Mutant Bird was smashed so hard its body shook and swayed, its iron-hook claws directly pierced the hard floor, the floorboard immediately broke a big hole, rubble falling from above.

After a successful strike, Jin Zhaoye didn't linger in battle. After landing, she dodged into the Mutant Bird's blind spot, swung the hammer in a wide arc, smashing at the Mutant Bird's claws again and again.

The Mutant Bird let out a piercing wail, its steps began to sway, it frantically shook its head, but couldn't find the person attacking it. Jin Zhaoye was like playing hide-and-seek with it, plus Xie Li and Ning Meng attacking from the side to interfere, beating this big bird so confused it couldn't find its bearings.

In the Mutant Bird's remaining eye, a flash of fear appeared. It gave up tangling with these small prey, flapped its wings, crashed through the glass curtain wall and flew out unsteadily, its massive figure quickly disappearing from everyone's sight, leaving only a floor covered in black feathers.

The survivors in the hall all stared in shock at the woman standing in the center of the broken glass on the floor. She held the iron hammer in one hand, her figure tall and slender, her cargo pants ripped in several places, the gauze wrapped around her arm showing traces of blood, the wind blew her falling hair, revealing those cold, sharp brows and eyes, an aura of killing intent rushing forth.

Xie Li, still holding up the handgun she'd forgotten to put away, stared dumbly at Jin Zhaoye's back, once again struck by how cool this woman was. There was a moment of silence in the hall, before the crowd could recover from the shock, another huge noise came from the door.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!' The violent crashing sounds struck everyone's hearts, the Zombies' roars came from the stairwell, getting closer and closer, denser and denser.

'They're coming.' The young man responsible for guarding the door stumbled back, his face pale, his lips trembling. 'So many, the Zombies upstairs are all pouring down, the stairwell is packed.' 'What do we do, this door won't hold, right?' someone said, voice trembling.

'How about jumping out the window?' 'This is the third floor, break your leg and you're dead.' People discussed in a flurry of voices, every face written with terror. Jin Zhaoye bent down to pick up a feather, stuffed it into her backpack: 'Ning Meng, bring the major general, we're breaking out downstairs.' 'Yes, Dr.

Jin.' Ning Meng quickly ran toward the private room inside. Bai Jingning quickly came to Jin Zhaoye's side, asking: 'Dr.

Jin, what's your plan?' 'We must leave.' Jin Zhaoye glanced at the Fire Escape Stairs door being smashed with bangs. 'Bai Zong, besides the Fire Escape Stairs, is there any other exit here?' Bai Jingning thought for a moment, shook her head: 'No, the fire escape corridors are all packed with Zombies now.' 'Jin Zhaoye.' Xie Li ran to Jin Zhaoye's side, gesturing for her to look at the elevator.

'We can climb down the elevator shaft.' Everyone, hearing this, turned to look at those tightly closed elevator doors. After the riot began, to prevent Zombies from entering, the elevators had long been locked by Bai Jingning's arrangements.

'Okay, Xie Li, can you find rope?' Jin Zhaoye looked at Xie Li and asked. 'Yes, wait, I have some in my backpack.' Xie Li turned and ran toward her backpack, crouched down with her back to the crowd, pulled open the zipper, took out several large bundles of rope from the bag, held them in her arms and ran back.

Jin Zhaoye glanced at Xie Li, took the rope with tacit understanding. Whether that bag had rope or not, she and Xie Li both knew perfectly well.

She finally confirmed one thing—Xie Li had some special ability. Perhaps like a space buckle, she had an independent interdimensional Space for storing things.

Those strange behaviors of hers before could now be explained. 'Come a few people, help tie knots.' Jin Zhaoye called out to the crowd.

'The rest of you, find a way to pry open all the elevator doors.' 'I can tie knots.' Lan Ran ran over with her hand raised, crouched down and started helping, her fingers quickly winding and tying. Bai Jingning also took a bundle of rope, her fingers flying, figure-eight knots forming one after another in her palm.

Xie Li glanced at the dark, sharp feathers on the ground, also picked one up, pretending to put it in her backpack but actually putting it into her Space. The black feather entered the Space, and Xie Li immediately received a reminder of increased experience points.

She was delighted. She had only picked up the feather because she saw Jin Zhaoye do it, and didn't expect such an unexpected gain.

It seemed that subsequent Space upgrades were related to these Mutant creatures. While Xie Li was studying her Space, the people in the hall had already packed up their food and weapons.

The deformed Fire Escape Stairs door was held tight against the tables and chairs, the banging outside hadn't stopped, the door frame was already showing signs of loosening, and through the cracked door gap one could see the pale faces crowded outside. Everyone worked together, pried open the elevator doors, the iron doors slid to both sides, revealing the dark shaft, cold wind rushing up from below, carrying the roars of Zombies and the smell of rust.

The people who pried open the door all stepped back two steps, looking at the dark hole, no one dared to go down first. Jin Zhaoye walked to the elevator entrance, took the fixed rope, and pulled hard to confirm it was secure.

She tucked the iron hammer at her waist, turned back to Ning Meng and said: 'I'll go down first to clear the way. Ning Meng, take care of A Yun.' 'I'm coming with you.' Xie Li immediately jogged to follow.

Jin Zhaoye didn't refuse. Xie Li had fought alongside her many times, a capable helper. She gripped the rope with both hands, flipped into the elevator shaft, her feet on the steel beams of the shaft wall, her body suspended in air, and quickly reached the basement level.

Xie Li gripped the rope and jumped in, catching up with Jin Zhaoye. The two worked together, pried open the elevator door.

Jin Zhaoye went out first, swung her hammer, and a Zombie that approached instantly fell. Xie Li followed closely, her machete slicing open another Zombie's head.

The two worked in perfect harmony, hammer rising and blade falling, clearing a small safe zone near the elevator entrance. 'Tell them to come down, you receive them here, I'll go find cars that can be driven.' Jin Zhaoye dropped a sentence and quickly ran toward the Parking Lot.

Xie Li returned to the elevator shaft, turned on her flashlight, and waved it upward. The people upstairs received the signal, and soon someone was climbing down the rope to transfer.

The first one down was Ning Meng, who had Fu Yunsheng tied to her back, climbing with some difficulty. Xie Li stepped forward to help, pulling her to the wall.

Next came a group of young people carrying supplies, followed by Bai Jingning, Lan Ran, Fat Aunt, and others...... There were quite a few people.

Before everyone could transfer down, terrified screams came from above. Then, one after another, people jumped down from the elevator entrance.

Some fell and didn't move, others limped and stumbled to their feet, continuing to run outside. From above, the Zombies' roars traveled down through the elevator shaft, getting closer and closer, denser and denser.

'Not good, the Zombies are coming down, let's go, get out of here.' Xie Li shouted to the crowd, pushing Lan Ran to escape. 'Follow me.' Jin Zhaoye returned in time, shouting to the crowd.

The crowd stumbled after her. Bai Jingning ran in the middle of the crowd, looking back as she ran and shouting: 'Everyone keep up, don't fall behind!' The chaotic footsteps echoed in the underground Parking Lot.

Behind them, the open elevator entrance was already packed with Zombies, a dark mass pouring out like a swarm of ants, chasing after the crowd. Jin Zhaoye led the people through twists and turns in the Parking Lot, finally stopping in front of several buses.

'Who can drive a bus?' She held up the keys, shouting to the crowd. 'Come get the keys.' 'I can.' A young Female Alpha stepped out from the crowd, short hair, wheat-colored skin, steady eyes.

She stepped forward, took a key, opened the door and got on the bus. 'I can too.' Another Female Omega with a ponytail stepped forward, took the key and ran toward the second vehicle.

The doors opened, and the crowd began to swarm onto the vehicles. Some reached out from the vehicle to pull the people behind them, pulling the older ones up first.

Others pushed and shoved desperately in the crowd, cursing to get on first. Bai Jingning stood by the vehicle, constantly shouting: 'Everyone stop pushing, line up, let the older ones and those carrying supplies get on first.' The crowd wouldn't listen.

A Middle-Aged Man pushed desperately in the crowd, knocking several young girls to the ground. The girls screamed and tried to get up, only to be pushed down again.

Jin Zhaoye stepped forward, grabbed the Middle-Aged Man by the collar, and dragged him out of the crowd. The man struggled to run, but was dragged all the way to the back of the crowd, facing the dark mass of the Zombie Herd rushing toward them.

'Ahhhhh—what are you doing! Let me go, I want to get on the vehicle!' The Middle-Aged Man screamed in terror, his face full of fear, his legs so weak he couldn't stand steady, collapsing on the ground like a pile of mud.

Jin Zhaoye pushed him forward half a step, making him face the Zombie Herd directly. 'You've got so much strength, why not help hold the rear?

Once everyone's on the vehicle, you can naturally get on too.' The man's face went from pale to ashen, his lips trembling, his pants soaked through. Seeing this, Xie Li quickly ran to Jin Zhaoye's side, her machete in hand, staring at the dark mass of Zombies rushing toward them, swallowed hard, and muttered in a low voice: 'Jin Zhaoye, next time can we, escape first thing!' Jin Zhaoye turned her head to glance at her, her gaze softening slightly.

'We'll talk about next time.' As soon as the words fell, the Zombies were upon them. The Zombie charging at the front wore a security guard uniform, looked like a Jingfeng Building employee, half its face rotted away, revealing the cheekbone and jawbone beneath, mouth wide open lunging at Jin Zhaoye.

Jin Zhaoye gripped her iron hammer, met it head-on, swung in a wide arc and smashed its head. With a crack, the security guard Zombie's head was shattered by the hammer, its body falling forward from inertia, collapsing on the Middle-Aged Man.

The man immediately let out a pig-like howl of agony, drawing dozens of Zombies toward him. Xie Li, gripping her blade, glanced at the man surrounded by Zombies, didn't bother with him.

Such a troublemaker wasn't worth wasting effort on. She sidestepped the Zombie's lunge, her machete swept horizontally, slicing off two Zombies' heads in one stroke.

Before these two Zombies fell, more Zombies arrived from behind. Xie Li kicked a Zombie away, reversed her blade and split open its skull.

One Zombie head after another rolled at her feet. 'I'll help.' Ning Meng, having settled Fu Yunsheng, hurried over. She gripped a multi-function military knife, rushed to Xie Li's side, stabbed it into a Zombie's eye socket, twisted her wrist, directly stirring the Zombie's brain into mush.

'Contract the formation, slowly retreat.' Jin Zhaoye shouted to Ning Meng. The three formed a triangle formation, each facing Zombies from one direction, fighting as they moved toward the bus.

They weren't naive enough to think they could kill all these Zombies; they just needed to buy enough time for everyone to get on the vehicle. The Zombies rushing in grew more numerous, the three were having trouble holding them off.

'Are you done yet?' Jin Zhaoye shouted toward the bus. 'Wait a bit longer, a few more!' Bai Jingning's voice came from the vehicle door.

When the three were still a few meters from the bus, all the survivors had gotten on. Bai Jingning stood by the vehicle, shouting to the three: 'Dr.

Jin, get on quickly.' 'Go, Xie Li, Ning Meng, you get on first, I'll hold the rear.' Jin Zhaoye grabbed Xie Li's arm, pushing her toward the vehicle door. Xie Li retreated a few steps to the vehicle door, pulled on by Bai Jingning.

Ning Meng retreated to the vehicle, turned back and found Jin Zhaoye still standing in place. The position she and Xie Li had vacated was already filled with Zombies.

The iron hammer was almost swung into an afterimage, the Zombies rushing up being smashed away one by one. 'Dr. Jin, let's go.' Ning Meng shouted to her.

Xie Li, clinging to the vehicle door, shouted to the driver: 'Drive, drive quickly, toward Dr. Jin!' The driver understood, turned the steering wheel, the bus's front turned, ramming into the Zombie Herd.

Zombies were sent flying, caught under the tires and crushed, splattering the ground with bits of flesh. Xie Li, half her body leaning out the vehicle door, reached out her hand to Jin Zhaoye: 'Jin Zhaoye, quick, grab my hand!' Jin Zhaoye swung her hammer, smashing away the Zombies beside her, turned and ran toward Xie Li.

When she was still over a meter away, she leaped up and grabbed Xie Li's hand. 'Accelerate, break out.' Xie Li gripped her palm, pulling hard to bring her closer.

The driver floored the accelerator, the bus roaring toward the Parking Lot exit. The massive inertia sent Jin Zhaoye's body soaring into the air.

She was like a gyrfalcon spreading its wings, soaring over the heads of the Zombie Herd, flying toward Xie Li.