A Familiar Face

Startled awake, Simon felt a dampness on his back. He quickly got up, realizing that the moisture on the floor had seeped into his bedding, soaking more than half of it.

Though he had blocked the window with a cabinet and the bed, faint light still managed to filter in, illuminating the room considerably. Clearly, dawn had broken outside.

The knocking at the door grew louder, the sound of something striking the reinforced door of the living room with increasing force.

Simon's heart tightened as he picked up the kitchen knife and hammer, opened the bedroom door, and walked into the living room.

Sunlight streamed through the balcony windows, dispelling much of Simon's lingering gloom and easing his earlier terror.

Watching the security door shake, Simon couldn't help but grip the knife and hammer tighter. It had to be a zombie-like creature causing the commotion. With four spirit sources already absorbed, he needed just one more to reach the fifth and final stage. What transformations would occur then?

Hoping that the entity outside was indeed one of these monsters, he cautiously peered through the peephole.

Simon gasped sharply.

Through the peephole, he saw shadows filling the long corridor outside, at least seven or eight figures.

These figures, male and female, old and young, were drenched from head to toe. Their faces were pallid and swollen, eyes fixed and lifeless like those of dead fish, their expressions vacant and devoid of life. They were all zombie-like creatures.

Simon had never imagined that so many of these creatures could gather in the hallway. Among them, he spotted a familiar face.

It was a young woman, stylishly dressed—the same young woman who lived next door. Simon had encountered her a few times, though he never knew her name.

Seeing her now, transformed into one of the undead, wandering the corridor, a profound sadness welled up within him.

While he had already encountered several of these creatures, they were strangers to him. The emotional impact had been minimal. But seeing someone he once recognized now dead and monstrous left him feeling deeply troubled, a heavy sorrow weighing on his heart.

The security door shuddered violently under the forceful blows of the creatures, their relentless pounding growing stronger.

Simon felt a chill run down his spine. Through the peephole, he could see that these undead creatures were not only pounding on his security door but also on the door of the stylish young woman's apartment next door.

The door to the apartment of the young couple down the hall was open, allowing the zombies to wander in and out like aimless spirits.

"What should I do? So many monsters..."

Simon retreated, his scalp tingling with fear. He glanced at the balcony. Although it would be difficult for the creatures to break through the security door, they could potentially enter the water and climb through the windows.

With this in mind, Simon hurriedly lifted the sofa in the living room. With his enhanced strength, moving the sofa was effortless, and he used it to block the balcony window. It wouldn't completely stop the creatures, but it was better than nothing.

He then moved the coffee table to the bathroom, propping it up against the small bathroom window to block any potential entry.

"Even if these makeshift barriers don't hold, at least I'll hear them trying to break through. The real danger is if they sneak in without me noticing," Simon thought, his mind racing with the need for vigilance.

Simon moved everything he could find to block the windows, ensuring every opening was thoroughly covered. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, he suddenly realized the banging on the security door had ceased.

Rushing to the peephole, he peered outside to find the hallway eerily empty, save for the dampness on the floor. The zombies that had been pounding on his door had vanished.

A sudden thud came from the balcony, causing the sofa he had placed there to shake.

"They're here," Simon thought, his heart tightening with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

A pale, swollen hand reached over the top of the sofa.

Simon lunged forward, using his body to press firmly against the sofa.

Soon, a second hand appeared, gripping the sofa.

Violent shaking ensued, the force growing stronger and stronger until Simon could no longer hold his ground. The sofa, along with Simon, was shoved aside as a drenched zombie crawled through the window.

Behind it, more zombies were desperately pushing their way inside.

Simon swung his cleaver, aiming directly at the first zombie that forced its way in.

Despite knowing he couldn't possibly fend off so many zombies, he had no choice but to fight desperately for his life, hoping for a slim chance of survival. He needed just one more source of spirit energy to reach five, and according to the message in his mind, obtaining five sources might trigger some transformation—his only hope for survival.

If his assumption was wrong, or if the transformation wasn't what he anticipated, then he would meet his end here today. After all, he might stand a chance one-on-one or even one-on-two, but against a horde of zombies, he had no hope.

The zombie was surprisingly agile. It shifted its body, raising its right arm to shield its head from the cleaver's strike.

The zombie's only fatal weakness was its head; injuries elsewhere were inconsequential.

The cleaver bit deeply into the zombie's raised arm. Simon's right hand brought the hammer down swiftly, smashing onto the zombie's forehead.

Since yesterday, Simon had battled four zombies. As these monsters grew stronger, Simon too became more formidable, evolving from his initial clumsy attempts to a more experienced fighter.

He had deliberately led with the cleaver, anticipating the zombie would evade or block it, with his true killing blow being the follow-up strike from the hammer.

This time, his prediction was accurate. The zombie blocked the cleaver but couldn't dodge or deflect the hammer.

Simon put all his strength into the hammer strike. The zombie's skull cracked open with a sharp sound, fragments of bone and brain matter spraying out.

The zombie toppled forward heavily.

Immediately, two more zombies surged forward in a frenzy.

At the same moment, the sofa was upended, and Simon saw the balcony window crowded with more zombies—at least five or six. He gasped, his chest tightening and his spine chilling at the sight.