Chapter 92: Survivor

Zhao Kuo's judgment was correct. At night, the zombies' senses were significantly weakened, and they weren't as ferocious or violent as during the day.

However, Zhao Kuo didn't let his guard down. He cautiously moved around the shops near the Western restaurant.

The drop rate of [M Virus Fragments] wasn't low. On average, he could get one fragment for every two zombies killed. After clearing out the zombies in the nearby barbecue shop, Zhao Kuo closed the shop's door and began sorting through his loot.

In total, he had 7 [M Virus Fragments], which meant he had killed at least 14 zombies.

The most dangerous encounter was when he faced three zombies at once. Relying on his sharp instincts and physical abilities, Zhao Kuo managed to handle the situation without major issues.

Most of the time, he simply snuck up on the zombies and decapitated them with a single strike.

Unfortunately, due to the frequent decapitations, the boning knife in his hand had started to dull, and it wasn't as easy to use as it had been at the beginning.

In the barbecue shop, Zhao Kuo also found a lot of ingredients.

But for the two of them, ingredients weren't important. What mattered was finding a way to fight their way out of the mall.

Time was their most valuable resource.

Fortunately, in the barbecue shop, Zhao Kuo found two large barrels of oil.

One of the zombies' weaknesses was fire, and oil was an excellent accelerant, especially a barrel of gutter oil. Its dark, murky appearance suggested it was full of flammable substances.

The only problem was that it was hard to carry back, so he decided to mark the location for now.

Zhao Kuo silently noted this information in his mind. After resting, he pushed the door open and stepped outside again.

There weren't many zombies on the fourth floor. In fact, most of the zombies were gathered on the first floor. Looking down from above, the sheer number of them was overwhelming, and in the darkness, it was downright eerie.

With so many zombies, trying to break out without firearms was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Was mutation really the only way?

Just then, a scream suddenly came from downstairs.

A survivor! Zhao Kuo was startled and immediately retreated into the barbecue shop, hiding behind the tables and chairs.

Sure enough, the zombies scattered across the various shops were alerted by the sudden scream and began rushing downstairs.

On the second floor, a young man was running for his life.

He had originally planned to take advantage of the night to see if he could escape the mall, but after stepping outside, he accidentally stepped on a zombie lying on the ground.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and wasn't caught by the zombie, or it would have been game over.

But now, the situation wasn't much better!

The young man felt his scalp tingling as he looked at the zombies closing in around him. His entire body was trembling.

But driven by the extreme desire to survive, he quickly ran into the fire escape.

The mall's fire escape was rarely used unless there was a fire, so there weren't many zombies inside.

The young man had managed to survive the initial outbreak, so he wasn't a coward. Holding a 10-centimeter-long utensil, he stabbed it into the skull of a zombie in the passage, then quickly pushed it down, tripping several zombies that were chasing him.

Meanwhile, Zhao Kuo peeked out to assess the situation.

The good news was that the survivor's scream had attracted many zombies from the fourth floor, significantly reducing the number of zombies nearby.

The bad news was that the zombies were now in a frenzy, and if he went out, he might become their next target.

Zhao Kuo thought for a moment and decided to retreat back into the barbecue shop's kitchen, waiting for things to calm down before making his next move.

In a way, he had simply moved from one kitchen to another.

But wait… kitchens have back doors!

Zhao Kuo's eyes suddenly lit up. Sure enough, in the barbecue shop's kitchen, he found a back door.

With a mix of anxiety and hope, he pushed it open. Outside was a long corridor, likely used for deliveries.

The corridor was quiet, and there were no zombies in sight.

He had discovered a new location. In the future, he might be able to use this corridor to move between different shops. Once the entire fourth floor was cleared, things would become much easier.

Zhao Kuo didn't immediately return to the Western restaurant. Instead, he used the corridor to enter another hotpot restaurant.

Hotpot restaurants were among the busiest in any mall, with high customer traffic. After the outbreak, the number of zombies inside was naturally the highest.

Fortunately, the survivor's scream had lured many zombies out, leaving only a few gluttonous ones inside.

So Zhao Kuo carefully began another round of hunting, earning another 11 [M Virus Fragments]. Combined with the 7 he had obtained in the barbecue shop and the 2 he had given to Tang Yingying, he now had 20 fragments—just enough to synthesize 1 [M Virus Essence].

However, for a class-based player like him, he needed 3 virus essences to undergo mutation.

Just as Zhao Kuo was about to continue moving through the corridor, he suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps coming from the passage.

His heart sank. He peeked out and saw a young man leading a large group of zombies into the corridor!

"Damn it!" Zhao Kuo cursed under his breath. He was about to close the door when an idea suddenly came to him.

Instead, he left the door wide open.

The young man also saw Zhao Kuo, as if spotting a beam of light in the darkness, and shouted, "Brother, save me!"

Zhao Kuo, playing the role of a hero, shouted back, "Get in here!"

He then reached out, pulled the young man into the kitchen, and quickly closed the door. He pushed the refrigerator against the back door to completely block it.

The kitchen door was made of steel, so it shouldn't be easy to break through.

If it was breached, well, he'd just have to use this guy as a sacrifice!

Fortunately, although the zombies outside were frenzied, they weren't strong enough to break through the steel door.

Chinese-made steel doors—these guys didn't stand a chance. Tsk.

The young man sat on the floor, gasping for air. The intense running had nearly burst his lungs.

"Are you okay?" Zhao Kuo asked.

The young man calmed himself down and said, "Thank you so much, brother. If it weren't for you, I…"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

If Zhao Kuo hadn't opened the door, he would have likely been chased to death by the zombies. These tireless monsters were truly terrifying.

With his plan in mind, Zhao Kuo played the role of a big brother, helping the young man up. "Don't sit for too long after intense exercise. Here, have some drinks to rehydrate."

The drinks, of course, were taken from the shop, and Zhao Kuo had specifically chosen energy drinks.

The young man's gratitude deepened. After taking a big gulp, he said, "My name is Bai Qi. I'm a student at Jiangchang University. I'm really grateful for your help, brother. I'll definitely repay this kindness."

Zhao Kuo, who had just taken a sip of his drink, immediately spat it out.

Wait, what did you say your name was?