That night, whether it was because of the dinner or not, Stel had Elsie put on the clothes he had picked out for her. Just as Stel had imagined, seeing Elsie in those clothes brought about a wonderful feeling of novelty. Stel couldn't help but praise her. Although his actions remained rough, he was clearly pleased.
The next morning, after having canned food for breakfast, Stel decided to head out again.
"I'm going out for a while. If I'm not back by mealtime, you can eat one can of food. Remember, you're only allowed to eat one. If I find out you ate more, you know the consequences."
Going out again?! When Elsie heard Stel's words, she jumped up from the floor in fear. The fact that Stel had managed to bring back so many supplies from the horde of zombies yesterday was already a miracle. Now that they had ample supplies at home and didn't lack anything, they could survive comfortably for a while. Why would Stel take the risk of going out again?
"Master, you just went out yesterday. Are you sure you want to go out again today? Could it be..." Elsie began to voice her concern but was cut off by a sharp "tsk" from Stel, which scared her into silence.
"I said I'm going out; I'm just informing you. Since when do I need your permission to leave?" Stel's voice was cold and commanding.
"I wouldn't dare!" Elsie quickly knelt down, pressing her forehead to the floor.
"But, Master, we have enough resources to last us for quite some time. Do you really need to go out? If you're feeling bored at home, I can keep you company..." As she spoke, Elsie started to lift her clothes, revealing a large expanse of her pale skin.
Stel frowned. "Do I need to explain my reasons for going out? Or are you willing to go out in my place?"
Go out in Stel's place? The thought of the hordes of zombies outside sent shivers down Elsie's spine. She definitely didn't want to go out!
Seeing the fear on Elsie's face, Stel let out a cold chuckle before turning to leave.
"Behave yourself and stay at home. Don't do anything unnecessary," Stel said, closing the door behind him.
"Bang!" The door shut, and Stel's footsteps faded away. Elsie sat on the floor, staring at the wall for a few moments.
"Damn it, you just want to go out and get yourself killed, who cares?" she muttered to herself. "I'm only worried that if you die, there won't be anyone to get supplies!"
Elsie always showed her true colors when Stel wasn't around.
"You say I can only eat one can? Today, I'm eating two!" she declared, jogging into her room. Looking at the row of canned food, she decided she would eat two today. There were so many cans, Stel wouldn't notice.
"Yeah, I'm eating two!" Elsie grabbed two cans and started walking to the dining table to eat them all.
Just as she took her first step, holding the cans, she suddenly heard a knock at the door.
"Bang!" The cans slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.
"I'll just eat one, I swear!" she exclaimed, thinking Stel had returned. She quickly squatted down and apologized. But after waiting for a while, there was no second knock.
Strange…? Could it not be Stel?
Elsie remained squatting, holding her breath. After half a minute, she confirmed there were no more knocks.
"It must have been my imagination…" she sighed in relief and picked up the fallen cans. Looking at the two cans in her hands, she thought for a moment and put one back.
"Better stick to one. Who knows if we'll have enough later…" she murmured, thinking it was better to ration the food.
Meanwhile, Stel had left the apartment building and walked to where the tricycle was parked.
To avoid the zombies, Stel specifically parked the tricycle near the community gate. Although it seemed convenient to park it right outside the apartment building, the countless zombies within the community would hinder the tricycle from getting out. Parking it at the gate meant he could start it up and drive straight onto the street without worrying about being blocked by zombies.
Moreover, Stel discovered a power outlet in the security booth of the community, which was perfect for charging the tricycle's battery.
"Zzzzzzzz—" When Stel approached the tricycle, he noticed that the number of zombies around had increased significantly.
"Damn, are these zombies just wandering aimlessly?" Stel muttered. If he were driving a regular car, the blockage caused by the zombies would prevent him from moving. Additionally, cars need gasoline, and who knows if there's any place left to refuel in the midst of a zombie outbreak? In comparison, an electric tricycle was much more convenient.
"Buzz—" Stel started the tricycle. As the motor kicked in, a puff of blue smoke was emitted from the back. The tricycle started smoothly.
Today, Stel planned to visit the large supermarket again. He couldn't stop thinking about the woman he had encountered yesterday, even as he tried to sleep.
"What was her name again? Oh, right… Trista." It took Stel a moment to recall her name. He wasn't particularly interested in her name, but finding a pretty female survivor in the apocalypse was rare, and Stel didn't want to miss the opportunity. Even the most delicious dish becomes dull if eaten every day. Stel was growing weary of having only Elsie around.
Driving through the streets, Stel was met with the same ruined scenery.
"This city is beyond saving…" he mused. "Damn, I wonder about the other cities. Are they all overrun by zombies, or is it just this one that's fallen?"
The city's communication had been cut off since the outbreak began. It was completely isolated, with no signal from other places and no way to contact anyone else.
The only thing the survivors could do was to continuously gather resources in this zombie-infested city to ensure their survival. Of course, there were also various lunatics taking advantage of the apocalypse to unleash their true nature.
Due to that large truck blocking the way, Stel still had to take a detour.
"Strange, why are there so many more zombie corpses here?"
As Stel passed through another street, he suddenly noticed an increase in the number of zombie corpses along the sides. However, the way these zombies had died was different from how he usually killed them.
These zombies had been crushed into a bloody pulp, their bodies flattened. Their deaths were extremely gruesome, but considering they were zombies, it didn't matter much.
"..."
Stel stared at the mangled zombie corpses on both sides of the street. A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him.
Who had killed these zombies? And how were they killed?