Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Trapped (02)
Liora clenched her stomach, thinking it was rumbling with hunger, but soon she realized it was not her stomach but someone else's. She looked around to find Zhou Yinuo covering her empty stomach with an embarrassed expression.
"I am sorry," she muttered, looking down in shame. She felt truly ashamed that she could not help them, and now she was even creating problems for them.
What if a zombie heard the rumbling sound of her stomach and came crashing toward them? Wouldn't it reveal their location? Zhou Yinuo felt even more guilty as she pressed harder on her stomach, hoping it would not make any sounds.
Liora looked at Zhou Yinuo's embarrassed face and could tell what silly thoughts were running through her mind.
"It's not your fault. Soon, our stomachs will start grumbling too since we haven't eaten for a long time," Liang Zihan tried to console Zhou Yinuo. He was also saddened that taxhey had to face such a situation and be hungry for this long.
But he could not do anything. It had become normal for most human beings to go hungry for an entire day after the apocalypse. It was not like they had never been hungry before.
However, the situation now felt even more overwhelming when dozens of zombies were waiting for them to become their next meal, and they did not have an ounce of energy to fight simply because they had not eaten anything.
It sounded truly miserable.
"We can't stay here for long," Liora said with a serious expression. She was right. If they waited here for the zombies to leave, it would simply be foolishness. The zombies would never leave unless they either killed them or found another prey.
"You are right, but where are we going to go? We can't fight so many zombies head-on," Chen Wei said. He knew waiting here was futile, but at least it was keeping them alive. Charging directly toward the zombies would be a reckless move.
"I have a plan. Just do as I say," Liora said and stood up from her crouching position.
Chen Wei felt doubtful because he had never seen Liora's fighting capabilities. He found it hard to believe the exaggerated stories of her skills that Liang Zihan and Zhou Yinuo had told him. She was simply human. How could she fight so hard with such a frail body?
But still, he could not deny her, looking at her eyes full of confidence.
Soon, after some preparations.
"Move. It's time," Liora said in a firm voice.
Chen Wei led the group at the front. He removed the wreckage in front that had been blocking the zombies from coming closer to them.
The zombies in front of them shortly started moving as the obstacle suddenly disappeared.
But Chen Wei did not allow them to come closer. He swiftly moved and killed all the nearest zombies without making any noise.
"Move quickly," he urged, turning to lead Zhou Yinuo and Liang Zihan toward the stairs that led to the upper floor of the supermarket.
The noise of the skirmish had attracted the attention of more zombies. Chen Wei didn't have time to count them; he could only trust that they were scattered enough to give them a chance to reach the stairs before the rest caught up.
The few zombies nearby were all dealt with by the trio. They followed Liora's instructions, and they all successfully reached the stairs.
Chen Wei looked over his shoulder—and his heart skipped a beat. All the color drained from his face.
Liora was attracting the zombies toward herself. No wonder they had encountered only a few zombies on their way to the stairs when the entire supermarket was densely packed with them.
"No, no... This wasn't part of the plan," Zhou Yinuo whispered with a trembling voice.
Liora flashed them a smile from the middle of the zombie crowd. She waved them forward, urging them to go to the upper floor.
"Go. Don't stop," she called to them, but there was a strange light in her eyes that didn't match the chaos around her. "I'll be fine. Just go."
But none of them moved. They all froze in place, their hearts sinking into their stomachs.
"What is she doing?" Liang Zihan muttered, his eyes widening with disbelief. "She... she's staying behind?"
But what about Liora? Everyone thought the same as their bodies became rigid with fright. This was not part of their plan. They had decided to walk to the upper floor and then seal the zombies on the lower level. They would stay there overnight and leave in the morning when most of the zombies would go into hiding.
Chen Wei's thoughts were chaotic, but one question repeated over and over in his mind: Why?
They had decided to go together, with Chen Wei leading at the front and Liora at the back. But now, Liora had suddenly decided to stay behind. "What does that mean? Is she risking her life for them? But why?"
They were not that close to each other. It was only the second day after they had met. Then why?
"Ahh!" A terrified scream tore through the silence between them, and all of them knew who it belonged to.
It was Liora.
She was suddenly ambushed by a large horde of zombies and fell to the ground, with zombies trampling over her.
Soon, Liora's figure disappeared into the middle of the zombie horde, and their hearts clenched painfully. They could not even see her body amidst the swarm.One moment, she was standing. The next—
She was gone.
Liora had always been calm, practical—even a little aloof. They hadn't known each other long, and yet, here she was, sacrificing herself.
For them.
Why?
They weren't that close. It had only been two days since they met, yet she was willing to risk everything for them.
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Zhou Yinuo's breath hitched, a sob catching in her throat. She took a shaky step forward but stopped herself. "No... We can't leave her. We can't."