Why are you hiding these under your bed?

“Su, what opportunity are you talking about?”

Zheng Xinyu followed Zhang Su as he dashed into the bedroom, a hint of confusion in her voice.

“The chance to take down the zombie!”

Zhang Su’s tone rose slightly, his expression filled with tension, urgency, and excitement.

Originally, the zombie was wandering the corridor, and the sound of the door opening would inevitably draw its attention, leading to a direct confrontation—a challenging prospect.

Now, with someone else distracting the zombie, the two of them could sneak up from behind and strike—a surprise attack is always easier than a frontal fight, any sane person would know that!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

As he answered Zheng Xinyu’s question, Zhang Su bent down with effort and pulled out a large box from under the bed, over a meter long and about thirty to forty centimeters thick.

Before Zheng Xinyu could ask more, Zhang Su expertly unclipped the latch and lifted the lid with a whoosh. A faint scent of industrial oil wafted out, revealing inside a collection of machetes, hatchets, hefty wrenches, and baseball bats lying quietly.

“These… Su, why do you have these things stashed under your bed?”

Zheng Xinyu could understand the baseball bat—a piece of sports equipment—but the strange-shaped machetes and sharp axes puzzled her.

Her curious gaze fixed on Zhang Su as if silently asking, “Are you some kind of killer?”

Zhang Su ignored her doubts, taking out a short-handled axe hammer and weighing it in his hand. One side gleamed coldly with a blade, the other was a hard, thick hammerhead, instantly instilling a sense of security. Then he pulled out the longest baseball bat and handed it to Zheng Xinyu.

“Here, you use this!”

“Oh!”

Zheng Xinyu nervously took the bat. She knew what was coming next, and her scalp tingled as her heart quickened.

From room 802 came a piercing cry for help. The zombie, like a lecherous predator drawn by temptation, pounded louder on the door, revealing its hunger for fresh blood.

“When did a woman move in next door…? We need to hurry. If she keeps screaming like that, she’ll attract even more zombies!”

Zhang Su was furious inside, unable to understand why women always screamed whenever something went wrong—happy or upset, they always screamed. Was this instinct written in their genes?

Zheng Xinyu said nothing, but inwardly, if it weren’t for Zhang Su leading the way, she wouldn’t have adapted so quickly to this environment. Much of her survival was thanks to him.

“Get ready. We’ll sneak out quietly and approach the zombie from behind. Then we attack its head together. You’ve seen zombie movies, right? Headshots—hit it there. Got it?”

Zhang Su pressed a finger to his temple as he spoke.

“Got it, got it…”

Zheng Xinyu replied vaguely.

Zhang Su wasn’t convinced. He stepped aside and said, “Come on, show me what you’ve got!”

“Su, this bat is kind of heavy… I’m afraid I won’t hit it right. What should I do?”

Unlike the cheap bats sold to local thugs for show, this one was custom-made by Zhang Su’s craftsman, using special reinforced materials and even borrowing ergonomic patents from top foreign weapons companies.

A normal baseball bat weighs about nine hundred grams; this one was two kilograms—easy for Zhang Su’s build and strength, but a bit too heavy for Zheng Xinyu.

“Heavy means power. If it’s light, you’re just scratching the zombie! Imagine the zombie’s head is a wooden stake. Lift the bat like you’re chopping firewood. Come on, hit me once so I can see your move!”

Zhang Su encouraged her.

“All right, hey!”

Zheng Xinyu didn’t hold back, focusing her energy and swinging the bat down with a whoosh that cut through the air. It had some real force.

Zhang Su was taken aback and frowned. “You’ve got some strength. Where does it come from?”

“I… I usually work out…”

Zheng Xinyu glanced sideways at Zhang Su, embarrassed to meet his eyes. She wouldn’t admit that seeing him hum and grunt during his workouts had secretly inspired her to exercise in her room too. Though the intensity was low, it was paying off now.

“Strength makes it easier. Power brings miracles. Your swing wasn’t quite right though—watch me. You need to coordinate your waist and back to deliver more force. After hitting, you should immediately dodge to avoid wasting energy…”

Zhang Su had learned from the legendary Master Chen; his seemingly wild attack moves were extremely practical.

Biting her lip, Zheng Xinyu studied carefully. She couldn’t master it quickly but was determined to remember the key points of power delivery.

“All right, like that. Now…”

“What are you looking for?”

Zheng Xinyu saw Zhang Su rummaging through the wardrobe and asked.

“Something for protection! The woman next door stopped screaming. According to my calculations, if the noise stops for four or five minutes, the zombie should give up. Hurry, there are magazines over there. I’ll make you some simple arm guards!”

With that, Zhang Su tossed two black wrist guards to the puzzled Zheng Xinyu.

“Arm guards?”

She knew about pads but had no idea how to make arm guards and was at a loss holding the wrist guards.

“I’ll help you put them on. Watch closely, then you help me!”

Zhang Su quickly wrapped a promotional magazine around Zheng Xinyu’s forearm, then stretched the wrist guard over it.

“Move your arm and see how it feels.”

Zheng Xinyu waved her arm. The wrist guard firmly secured the magazine to her forearm, very stable. She smiled, “It’s solid and doesn’t affect my movement at all.”

“Good. See? That’s how you wear it!”

Soon, Zhang Su did the same for her other arm.

Zheng Xinyu was smart; once she understood, she helped Zhang Su put on his guards skillfully.

“If a zombie lunges at you, block with your arms like this, then push and kick it. Got it?”

Zhang Su raised his arm to demonstrate.

“This… this is so dangerous. Do we really have to do this?”

Zheng Xinyu grimaced as she followed his moves. She hoped they could just kill the zombies right away because if a zombie bit her, she knew she was done for.

“We’re full of energy and uninjured now. If we don’t practice killing zombies now, what will we do when supplies run low and we’re weak and starving? Then we have to face zombies with what? Our bare heads?”

Zhang Su asked sternly.

It was a very real question. Zheng Xinyu could imagine the grim scenario Zhang Su described—like a frog slowly boiled in warm water. When it came to the end, they might not have the strength to fight back.

Without Zhang Su’s leadership, Zheng Xinyu felt she would be the one just sitting and waiting for death, as Zhang Su had said…

“All right, I’m with you!”

Zheng Xinyu’s eyes grew steadier, and her blocking moves became more proper.