Chapter 67: At Most 45 Points "Take action!" Zhang Su whispered to Old Wang. "Alright, alright!" Wang Guangjun held the wooden spear tightly in his hand, hesitating like an amateur fisherman unsure of which fish to stab, causing anxiety just by watching him. A zombie being tripped is not a permanent solution; their movements are stiff but they’ll eventually get back up, so they must be dealt with quickly. Seeing Wang Guangjun hesitant to strike, Zhang Su shook his head quietly. After all, it was his first time, and difficulties were understandable, but that wasn’t an excuse for cowardice. "Watch!" He took the crowbar from his waist, aimed at a zombie’s head and swung down hard, the heavy crowbar piercing through the zombie’s skull in an instant. Ah-ooo... The attacked zombie’s skull shattered, and with a spasm, it collapsed to the ground, leaving its body to be dragged by the other two zombies. "Hmph!" The scene stirred something in Wang Guangjun, who turned red in the face, let out a strange grunt, and thrust the spear down with all his strength. Squish! Though crude, the wooden spear paired with Wang Guangjun’s strength was still effective against a zombie’s flesh. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and instead of the head, the spear pierced the neck. "Finish it off!" While speaking, Zhang Su kicked the rising zombie out the door, then drove the crowbar into its head, knocking it to the ground. Zheng Xinyu seized the opportunity, leaping over the fallen zombie at the door and swinging her baseball bat down fiercely. She had slowly mastered some positioning techniques to avoid getting splattered with blood. "I said let Old Wang finish it off!" Zhang Su said helplessly. "No worries, I got this!" Zheng Xinyu’s violent instincts were fully activated, swinging the bat relentlessly, enlarging the wound Zhang Su had made on the zombie. Compared to Zheng Xinyu, Wang Guangjun fell short, watching the zombie with a pierced neck flounder on the ground, standing helplessly by with his face twitching. Zhong Xiaoshan came down from upstairs, intending to swing her iron pipe to finish the zombie, but Zhang Su stopped her. "Old Wang, you must deal with this zombie, otherwise you’ll have to run beside the car because I won’t let you in!" Zhang Su said firmly. Wang Guangjun pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and with a stomp, stepped forward to grip the wooden spear. With a squelch, he pulled it out and stabbed down hard again. Squish. The wooden spear went in through the zombie’s ear; it didn’t seem to pierce all the way, but the zombie on the ground slowly ceased movement, coming to a stop like a machine out of power. "Finally done..." "Don’t shout!" Old Wang almost exclaimed in excitement but was pushed to silence by Zhang Su. "I did it." Wang Guangjun whispered excitedly, a trace of uncontrollable madness on his face, a joy every first-time zombie killer experiences, a joy of transformation. "Not bad, I’d give you forty-five out of a hundred." Zhang Su fiddled with the wooden spear lodged in the zombie’s head, grading his performance. "Forty, forty-five?" Wang Guangjun chuckled awkwardly, "Brother Zhang, it can’t be that bad?" Zhang Su pointed at Zhong Xiaoshan: "First, she lured the zombie, then Xinyu set the trip wire. You only had to kill it and still hesitated half the time. Forty-five is generous considering your age, otherwise thirty." Wang Guangjun’s face flushed. For the first time, he felt inferior to a young girl. He smiled awkwardly, not arguing, for he had no ground to stand on. He pulled the wooden spear from the zombie, the tip dyed with dark red blood and already splintering, probably good for one or two more kills before breaking. Its durability was quite low. Zhang Su handed his crowbar to Wang Guangjun, saying, "You know how to use a hoe, right? Treat the zombie’s head like soil and use the crowbar as a hoe!" "Yes, yes, I used to work in the countryside!" Wang Guangjun excitedly took the crowbar, trying it out in his hands. Compared to the flimsy wooden spear, it felt a hundred times more suitable! "Try again later, first, we gather equipment!" Zhang Su said to Wang Guangjun. "Gather equipment?" Wang Guangjun looked at Zhang Su in surprise. "Uncle, zombies were people too, they must have some stuff on them. Don’t waste it!" Zheng Xinyu noticed Wang Guangjun’s confusion and demonstrated, squatting down to search the zombie’s pockets. Wang Guangjun suddenly understood, quickly squatting down to "gather equipment," quietly muttering, "It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault." Soon they had finished gathering equipment. As time passed, there was less usable stuff, with only phones and cigarettes holding any value. Wallets and keys were not even worth taking. "We must collect phones. They’re essential as one-time tools to attract zombies with sound. The more, the better!" Zhang Su said, stuffing several phones into his bag, "Xiaoshan took a risk to perform a test for us, obtaining crucial data. From the earlier situation, zombies seem to sense living things within four to five meters." "Maybe my rapid breathing had something to do with it." Zhong Xiaoshan added. Zhang Su, surprised for a moment, continued, "The safe distance should have a buffer, say seven to eight meters. In the absence of noise, seven to eight meters is a safe distance to avoid alerting the zombies, though this is only initial data, so be cautious!" "If zombies rely mainly on smell and hearing, could certain scents make them more sensitive? Like blood." Zheng Xinyu posed a question. Zhang Su nodded, "That’s very possible, but without blood, we can’t experiment now. We’ll try when we have the chance later. Make adjustments, and prepare to move out!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 Moments later, the four stood behind the door to the parking lot. Zhang Su as usual pressed his ear against it, listening carefully. There was nothing but faint scratching sounds, hard to pinpoint any zombies wandering around. "Haven’t left yet?" Zhang Su pondered. His plan was to have Qin Ya’s group drive the zombies away before going into the underground garage, making it much easier. "Or have they already left..." Zhang Su frowned in bafflement, by his timing there was no way Qin Ya’s group would be so quick. More importantly, if they left by car, surely it would have caused quite a commotion. Yet the place was serene, not like anyone had just left. "Stay close, don’t panic!" After waiting another two to three minutes without any changes, Zhang Su decided not to wait any longer, reminded his companions, and gently opened the metal door. Whoosh. A chilly breeze mixed with the stench wafted into the stairwell, and they shivered involuntarily. Given the tales, with so many dead in the underground garage, it surely wasn’t clean, but no one cared about that now. Compared to legendary ghosts, zombies in the real world were far more lethal... The underground parking lot was dimly lit, with little light coming from the stairway openings, mainly relying on some cars’ hazard lights. Unfortunately, the alarms had stopped, likely close to losing power.