Chapter 23: What A Close Shave
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shen Chen shook his head and motioned to Zhao Zhen not to be rash. He then slowly raised his weapon; there were three crisp sounds before the three zombies collapsed to the ground. Black Blade was used to stab the back of the zombies' heads, destroying their brain tissue upon impact. If he were to chop their heads off, the movement could alert the other zombies. That was why Shen Chen chose to do what he did instead. He slowly dragged the zombies to one side, then beckoned the rest to carefully move forward.
Zhao Ze's eyes kept darting nervously as he stuck close to Shen Chen like a timid mouse. The three of them walked down the long hallway cautiously. After they passed through a security door, they were greeted with the sight of a wide glass door that was open. In that instant, everyone's eyes widened, and their scalps tingled.
This was a Chinese restaurant that could accommodate a thousand guests. It was supposed to have been a happy setting. In fact, the wedding march could still be heard! However, the restaurant had already become a scene of carnage and bloodshed. But that wasn't the only reason their scalps were tingling! There were four to five hundred zombies here!
Zhao Ze let out a bloodcurdling scream as he ran out of the restaurant. The zombies inside immediately turned to look in their direction! A few hundred pairs of eyes were now staring at the intruders!
'Zhao Ze, that idiot!!!' Shen Chen's head was about to explode! Had it not been for his screams, there was no way the zombies would have discovered the three of them! His screams had gotten them into trouble!
The zombies started moving! They spread themselves out and started moving toward Shen Chen, their arms raised. It was a grotesque sight. Their faces were in a terrible state of decay. Drool was dripping out of their mouths, and their jaws opened and closed noisily.
Zhao Zhen blanked out for a moment. He felt as if he had been transported to another dimension; his brain could no longer command his body to move. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't get his body to move.
"Quick!" Shen Chen's face had never looked so grim. He wasted no time in pulling Zhao Zhen along as he ran out of the restaurant.
Three to four hundred zombies! That was enough to kill the two of them! At this moment, his priority was to ensure Zhao Zhen's survival! He could deal with Zhao Ze later.
The long hallway did not feel quite as long as when they had first gotten there, but it now seemed to take them forever to reach the fire door! The hallway stood between them and their survival!
About a dozen seconds later, the fire door finally appeared within sight. Shen Chen was about to relax for a second, but he suddenly had a bad premonition. Zhao Ze was nowhere to be seen. What they did see, though, were layers of metal chains wrapped around the door handle. Zhao Zhen and Shen Chen's faces blanched! 'Zhao Ze! That bast*rd! How dare he lock the door!!!'
But the noises behind them reminded them that the zombies were about to catch up with them very soon. "F*ck! It must have been that b*stard Zhao Ze!" said Zhao Zhen as he hacked away at the chains with the fire axe. He was so anxious that he was virtually on the edge of tears. His hands were trembling so much that the hacking had no effect whatsoever on the metal chains.
Shen Chen promptly whipped out Black Blade and aimed it at the metal chains. The chains immediately fell apart, and he opened the door without hesitation. "Go."
"What about you?" Zhao Zhen asked worriedly.
Shen Chen could already see the zombies' arms from around the corner. He urged Zhao Zhen, "I can't leave. If these zombies were to get out, both Third and Fourth would die!"
Zhao Zhen's heart lurched. "Then what should we do?"
Shen Chen's eyes fell on the zombies lying on the ground. Taking a deep breath, he then said with a solemn expression, "I have an idea!"
…
The zombies were marching toward them like an army. However, their footsteps started to slow down as they approached the fire door.
The fire door was tightly closed. Two "zombies" were standing against the wall, and one of them started pacing in front of the fire door. The "zombie" who had been pacing around with his arm dangling suddenly turned toward the swamp of zombies. A scary growl emerged from him.
At this instant, Zhao Zhen was peeking through the crevice of the fire door. He could see Shen Chen inserting Black Blade into the zombie's body. Shen Chen was looking really uneasy and was making growling sounds similar to that of a zombie's.
The swamp of zombies slowed down as they stared at this strange "zombie" in bewilderment. They felt compelled to obey its command. Besides, there was no longer a trace of the humans' scent in the air. The zombies slowly turned around and froze for a while before finally dispersing.
At this moment, the wedding march could still be heard echoing throughout the hallway. Their keen sense of hearing having picked up the strains of the melody, the zombies started moving in the direction of the music.
About half an hour later, the Black Blade and the fire axe were removed from the zombie's body. The zombie that had been standing in front of the door previously immediately collapsed to the ground in a mush.
Behind the door, Zhao Zhen crumbled to the ground, drenched in sweat. He hadn't expected Shen Chen to fool the zombies by controlling one's movements with a weapon inserted in its body, at the same time making weird noises with his mouth. And these zombies actually fell for it! Just a while ago, he had accepted that this endeavor would be a matter of life or death, but they were now safe and sound thanks to boss! Otherwise, he would have met his demise today!
"Are you able to move?" Shen Chen also fell to the floor, his muscles uncontrollably spasming from the sheer pressure that he had just faced.
Zhao Zhen smiled wryly. "I'm having leg cramps."
"Hang in there. We need to get out of here." Shen Chen supported his weight as they made their way down the stairs. He found a room on the third floor so that Zhao Zhen could rest for a bit.
"Boss, there are still hundreds of zombies up there! What shall we do?" Zhao Zhen asked anxiously.
"I didn't expect there to be a wedding…" Shen Chen lowered his gaze, saying coldly, "That has to be resolved. We need to figure something out when we get back… but the most pressing matter at hand is to find Zhao Ze!"
Zhao Ze! How dare he lock the fire door! He was trying to get them killed! Zhao Zhen nodded somberly, saying, "We can't keep him in the team anymore, boss!"
Shen Chen snorted as anger suddenly flared in his eyes. Suddenly, they heard rapid footsteps coming toward them from outside the door. Shen Chen peeked outside discreetly, only to see Guo Yuan running over with a worried expression on his face. He quickly opened the door for him. "Third!"
Guo Yuan was pleasantly surprised to see Shen Chen, but his expression suddenly changed to one of worry. "Are you guys all right, boss?"
"Yeah, we're fine!" said Shen Chen as he glanced behind Guo Yuan. It was just him alone. Shen Chen's brows furrowed. "How come the other two aren't with you?"
Guo Yuan's expression suddenly changed as he broke into a tirade. "Boss! This b*stard, Zhao Ze. He…"
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