Chapter 17: A Place to Stand

"He's really strong, and he's gotten even stronger," Chen Gang thought to himself, noticing that Yue Zhong had indeed grown more powerful in just a few hours.

"Vitality Apple!" After killing five zombies, Yue Zhong suddenly saw a Vitality Apple drop from one of them. Overjoyed, he quickly picked it up and tucked it into his pocket.

After taking down two more zombies, Yue Zhong and Bone retreated. The sheer number of zombies was overwhelming, and even with their strength, they couldn't hold off the horde for long alone.

"Are we done here?" Yue Zhong quickly returned to the bus and asked Ji Qingwu.

Ji Qingwu pointed at Chen Gang and the others and said, "Yes. I made these three guys help with moving supplies as a condition for taking them to a relatively safe place."

Yue Zhong glanced at Chen Gang and the others, who were now huddled in a corner of the bus with various bags of supplies.

Seeing Yue Zhong board the bus, Chen Gang and his companions merely glanced at him and didn't dare say anything more.

The bus was now packed with all kinds of supplies.

Wang Fang and Cai Xiao sat in their seats, panting heavily. They had never done such heavy labor before.

"Let's go!" Yue Zhong shouted.

Chen Yao stepped on the gas, and the bus surged forward, plowing through the zombies that stood in its path.

As the bus drove out of the campus, everyone could see the state of the streets.

Zombies were everywhere, and cars were either abandoned on the sides of the road or crashed into the nearby shops.

Some restaurants were even engulfed in flames, the fire roaring into the sky.

Not long after leaving the campus, groups of zombies, drawn by the sound of the bus engine, began shambling toward them.

Chen Yao's eyes gleamed with determination as she steered the bus straight into the zombies, knocking them aside one by one.

Yue Zhong looked at the swarms of zombies on the streets and thought, "Good thing we got this bus. Otherwise, we'd be stranded." The streets were teeming with zombies, and even Yue Zhong and Bone wouldn't have been able to navigate through them.

Chen Gang and the others were terrified as they watched the endless stream of zombies. It felt as if the world had been taken over by the undead, with no living beings in sight.

The once bustling streets now resembled a ghost town, filled with nothing but zombies.

Chen Yao drove the bus at high speed, plowing through countless zombies until they finally entered the Shengshi Garden residential area.

The world had gone awry in the afternoon, and at this time, most of the residents of Shengshi Garden were either away or holed up in their apartments. Few were outside.

Chen Yao drove the bus into the community, knocking aside zombies until she stopped in front of one of the apartment buildings.

As soon as the door opened, Bone stepped out and swung its giant axe, sending a zombie flying.

Yue Zhong also jumped off the bus, wielding his replica Tang blade to cut down the zombies.

"Get out!" Ji Qingwu ordered the students as she leapt off the bus.

Chen Yao, the four girls, and the three boys quickly disembarked.

There were only a few zombies outside the building, and they were swiftly dealt with by Yue Zhong, Bone, and Ji Qingwu.

The seven students sat and watched as the trio effortlessly took down the zombies.

"Give me the keys," Yue Zhong said, walking up to Chen Yao and holding out his hand.

Chen Yao quickly pulled out a set of keys and handed them over.

Yue Zhong took the keys and swiftly unlocked the steel door of the apartment building.

As the door opened, four zombies stumbled out, lurching toward the group.

Seeing the mangled bodies of the zombies, the seven students backed away in fear. Almost everyone knew about zombie outbreaks—if bitten, they could turn into zombies. None of them wanted that.

Bone swung its axe like a whirlwind, decapitating three zombies in an instant.

Yue Zhong bent slightly and swung his blade upward, slicing off the head of the fourth zombie.

"Bring the supplies and head upstairs! I'll clear the way. Move quickly, no dawdling," Yue Zhong said, then rushed into the building with Bone. "Ji Qingwu, you're in charge of their safety. Take the stairs."

"Got it," Ji Qingwu nodded.

Chen Yao's apartment was on the fifth floor. Yue Zhong and Bone raced up the stairs, clearing out any zombies they encountered on each floor.

By the time they reached the fifth floor, they had killed twelve zombies.

Yue Zhong unlocked the door to Chen Yao's apartment and ordered Bone, "Bone, go upstairs and clear the zombies on every floor."

Following Yue Zhong's command, Bone dragged its axe and headed upstairs to eliminate any remaining zombies in the building.

Yue Zhong walked into the apartment and collapsed onto the couch, gasping for breath as he took a moment to rest.

Today's intense battles had left him utterly exhausted. His stamina had dropped to 4 points, and if not for his sheer willpower, he wouldn't have lasted this long. Now that he was seated, he didn't want to get up again.

One by one, Chen Yao and the others hauled the supplies from the bus into the apartment.

When they entered the apartment, Yue Zhong barely glanced at them. He was too exhausted to care about manners or appearances.

Soon, thanks to the efforts of Chen Yao and the others, the apartment was filled with supplies.

They worked until nightfall, finally moving all the supplies from the bus into the apartment.

Once the security door was locked, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to search the rest of this building," Yue Zhong said to Ji Qingwu as he stood up, his stamina having recovered to 7 points.

"Be careful," Ji Qingwu replied, looking at him. She, too, was exhausted and needed rest.

"Be safe," Zhang Xuan added worriedly.

Yue Zhong nodded and quickly left the apartment.