The zombie's rasping gurgle came to a sudden halt. It maintained its lunging posture for a split second before toppling straight forward.
Then, two more sharp whistles rang out in quick succession!
Thud! Thud!
Two more zombie heads were pierced through. Foul fluid splashed everywhere as they collapsed heavily to the ground.
The remaining three zombies seemed to sense the threat. Their growls grew more frenzied as they abandoned their futile attempts to breach the barrier and whipped around toward the direction the arrows had come from.
A small, dark shadow lunged out from behind a ruined wall, moving so fast it almost left an afterimage.
The figure gripped a strange blade with a slightly curved body and a hooked, forked tip at the end of the edge.
The three zombies roared and pounced at her.
The small figure didn't retreat; instead, she surged forward. Her footwork was agile and eerie. With a low crouch, she slid beneath the claws of the first zombie, her strange blade slashing upward in a smooth arc to precisely slice into its lower jaw.
With a twist and a flick of the blade's tip, half of the rotten head slumped to the side, and the creature went limp.
The second zombie was already at her side, its foul-smelling maw gaping as it lunged for her shoulder.
The girl's waist twisted as if she had no bones, narrowly avoiding the bite. At the same time, a sharpened piece of rebar appeared in her left hand. She drove it backward into the zombie's eye socket, burying it all the way to the makeshift handle!
The last zombie charged head-on, arms spread wide in an attempt to tackle her.
The girl's eyes were as cold as ice. Instead of backing away, she threw herself into the zombie's chest, driving her strange blade upward from beneath its chin, piercing straight through the skull!
As she withdrew the blade, a spray of dark brown filth followed. The zombie crashed to the ground.
From the first arrow to the last zombie falling, barely a dozen seconds had passed.
The girl's movements lacked any unnecessary flourishes; they were purely concise, efficient, and lethal killing techniques. Combined with an explosive power and speed that defied her frail frame, she had emerged from the close-quarters melee completely unscathed.
The battle settled, leaving the air thick with the heavy scent of blood and rot.
Only then did Su Wan, aided by the dim light, get a clear look at this uninvited guest.
It was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, dressed in a dark, tattered tracksuit. Her frame was thin and bony.
Despite her thinness, the lines of her exposed wrists and forearms were exceptionally defined. Her muscles were tight and lean, without a trace of excess fat—a toughness forged by a long struggle on the edge of life and death, constantly tempered by the use of force.
Her short hair was a mess, her skin sallow, and her cheeks sunken with prominent cheekbones. Her face was smeared with dust and several spots of dark, dried blood.
Only her eyes stood out—clear and bright, with pupils that shone with an alarming intensity. They were filled with wariness and a cold sharpness that went far beyond her years.
The girl glanced at Su Wan before crouching down. Using the tip of her strange blade, she skillfully pried open each zombie's skull, rummaging inside as if searching for something.
The sound of the blade scraping against bone was grating, mixed with a sickening, squelching noise.
Su Wan's stomach churned. She had to look away to suppress the rising bile in her throat.
When she was finished, the girl stood up and flicked the filth off the tip of her blade.
Finally, her gaze settled on Su Wan.
More accurately, it settled intently on the small piece of dry, expiring bread in Su Wan's hand, which only had a single bite taken out of it.
The girl unconsciously licked her dry, cracked lips. The longing swirling in those overly bright eyes was visceral and intense.
Su Wan looked at the youthful yet weathered face outside the window. She finally managed to swallow the bread in her mouth and spoke up, "Do you... want this?"
She raised her hand, gesturing with the dry bread.
The girl was visibly stunned. She clearly hadn't expected Su Wan to speak, let alone ask such a question.
Her body instinctively retreated half a step, kicking up a spray of snow.
She raised her strange blade slightly, her sharp gaze scanning Su Wan and the surroundings as if trying to determine if this was a trap.
After a few seconds of sensing no danger, she gave a slow, stiff nod. It was a guarded gesture, born of a long-standing lack of trust.
Then, the girl did something that surprised Su Wan.
She reached into her tattered backpack, rummaged around, and pulled something out, clutching it in her fist.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl opened her palm and held it up, letting the object catch the light spilling from the stairwell.
Su Wan squinted to see. Lying in the girl's palm, which was covered in small scars and calluses, was a small...
Gold bean?
The object was about the size of a pinky fingernail. Its shape was irregular, but it still held the unmistakable luster of gold.
"This," the girl said. Her voice was cold and raspy, carrying a detachment that didn't match her age. "Trade."
She didn't seem used to speaking more than necessary, expressing her intent with concise brevity.
Her gaze remained locked on Su Wan, observing her reaction.
Seeing that Su Wan didn't immediately refuse or show hostility, the girl's eyes brightened. She pinched the gold bean and tossed it with a flick of her wrist.
The gold bean traced a short arc and landed with a sharp tap on the ground right in front of Su Wan.
Su Wan's heart skipped a beat.
She crouched down, picked up the gold bean, and held it close to her eyes.
It wasn't actually a gold bean, but a delicate gold stud earring that the girl had crushed and rubbed into an irregular shape.
The solid weight and the cold temperature of the metal felt like a faint electric current, instantly jolting Su Wan's nerves.
All of this... really wasn't a dream.
She had truly traveled with this unfinished building to a world that looked like a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
And now, a girl struggling to survive in this apocalypse was using a genuine gold earring to trade for a piece of dry, expiring bread worth barely a dollar.
It was absurd and surreal.
The girl stared at Su Wan without blinking. Seeing her just staring at the gold bean without making a move to trade, a flicker of anxiety and disappointment crossed her bright eyes.
The girl bit her lip harder. After a brief hesitation, she reached into her tattered backpack once more.
A few seconds later, she withdrew her hand and opened her fist.
Lying in her palm was a tangled gold necklace. This clump of gold was several times larger than the previous "gold bean."
The girl tossed it again. Thud!
The gold chain hit the cold ground with a much heavier, more solid sound than before.
"Trade," the girl rasped, her voice even hoarser. Her eyes were fixed on the bread in Su Wan's hand, and her throat moved in an almost imperceptible swallow.
This time, Su Wan finally snapped out of her shock and chaotic thoughts.
She no longer hesitated. She crouched down and picked up the heavy clump of gold.
Then, she wrapped the bread—the one she had only taken one bite of—back into its plastic bag and tossed it toward the girl.
Rate on N.U.
