The Reborn Otaku's Code of Practice for the Apocalypse

Chapter 12

*Swish, thud* The zombie crumpled.

Luo Xun sighed, stepped forward to kick open the zombie’s skull and removed the arrow from the rotten remains. He did not want to resort to such disgusting methods but he did not have enough ammunition to lose even one arrow. Until he could stockpile arrows, he could not waste ammo.

Today was the 30th, the third day of the apocalypse. Earlier this morning, Luo Xun saw army squads heading towards the city from his terrace. Since they were going out to help, the zombies inside the army had been cleared up. Luo Xun estimated that everyone’s life would improve if the military managed to establish a safe zone in the southwest area within half a month.

He had been secretly dealing with the local wandering zombies for the past two days since the less the better. Other than the zombies locked in the houses, Luo Xun had killed most of the wandering zombies.

Of course he had only cleared building 7 and the two beside it. Any further he ignored to not let people notice anything strange. He was just a regular citizen, doing this was within his capabilities. Even with tools he was not so naïve or kind to be on the vanguard eliminating zombies.

His past experiences made him wary of zombies, mutant animals as well as those with unclear motives. Luo Xun headed towards the 7th floor after kicking the dead zombie. Yesterday night he had heard car engines as people fled the district. The sky was dark so Luo Xun did not know the specifics. This morning the number of zombies had decreased, likely lured away by those who had fled.

Those people probably left a bunch of cars in the area. Fortunately there were no other cars parked in his building, Luo Xun should be able to avoid contact with any neighbors. He walked down the hall and found the elevator light had gone dark.

Blackout? It had finally occurred?

Luo Xun was surprised then wryly smiled, he did not know if his luck was good or bad, If he had been inside the elevator when the power was cut he would have been stuck in the middle. There would be some risk even if he knew how to escape from an elevator.

The danger was gone, but he should climb up to the 16th floor, to safety with lighting. With the power outage, it was time to test his level of physical fitness!

Although Luo Xun had gone through the building multiple times, he remained cautious and vigilant with his crossbow. He vaguely heard zombies knocking in a nearby room when he passed a floor. The construction company many have been stingy on lightbulbs and pipes but the doors were sturdy.

Luo Xun’s anti-theft door had not changed even when the landlord had been replaced. Before the apocalypse, Luo Xun had counted the number of building occupants. Excluding furnished homes without inhabitants there were only 5 occupied homes not including Luo Xun. Two were being furnished by workers.

Luo Xun cautiously ascended one floor at a time then jerked up the crossbow when he reached the 15th floor. There was someone there!

A man fell from the stairs towards him, he seemed to have fainted while climbing. From behind, it seemed like the man was not breathing.

Luo Xun strafed to the corner of the platform and aimed the crossbow at the brain. His memory was not the best but he at least remembered recent events. The building had five others, he killed three zombies in the corridor and the remainder had long since gone downstairs to wander.

Killed 3, one on the 5th floor, one on the 3rd floor, the last had been killed nearby. He had not killed any zombies in this floor stairwell!

Last night a car had appeared in the area, he must be one of those people. Luo Xun was not sure why he was here alone though, there was no parking under the building. He must have been separated from his companions after entering the area.

Now the man was on the ground, injured and on the brink of death!

Luo Zun grabbed his mace, slowly approached and poked the man’s leg. Although he had made the bat more deadly, it was only lethal when swung. As long as the nails did not break skin, it should not hurt anyone.

Luo Xun prodded the man twice with no reaction. He raised an eyebrow and guessed that the man had died due to means unrelated to zombies. He paused then took two steps forward, bat raised when suddenly the man groaned.

He was alive! Luo Xun felt conflicted. The man was alive and not a zombie which was good, but a living person also caused problems. He also did not see the wounds, were they from a zombie?

Wondering, Luo Xun tried to turn the man over with his bat. The man rolled over, confused but lucid. He opened his eyes and suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. The man’s eyes flashed and he touched his back to metal. The guard rail along with the bat nails converged to form a spear, the metallic point faced Luo Xun.

Metal powers? The thought flashed through Luo Xun’s mind.

"I am a human!" He hurriedly backtracked.

The man propped himself up and narrowed his eyes. He was obviously not relaxed and wore a bloodied mask with a recently scarred head wound. He held a hand to his chest, perhaps an injury with internal bleeding not from zombies.

Luo Xun’s heart sank as he took in the man’s appearance, his current state was likely caused by former companions. Luo Xun would rather deal with a zombie than a man with no trust in fellow humans! Luo Xun had died because of an ability user in his past life!

"I am a tenant in the building, the power was cut and you are blocking the stairs." Luo Xun’s voice was dry, he was so unlucky.

He was an ordinary person who did not want to be an enemy of any ability users. There was nothing else he could do for now but be polite.

Hearing Luo Xun’s words, the man squinted and said in a hoarse voice. "Lay down the weapon and take off the helmet."

...Oh, he had forgotten that in order to avoid contact with zombies, Luo Xun wore a long raincoat, boots, helmet, rubber gloves and long sleeve clothing. All were professional grade water-proof equipment.

How could the man not be vigilant against a suspiciously fully clothed, masked person! Luo Xun silently dropped the bat and crossbow. He would not dream of taking on an ability user even if he could try a sneak attack.

The person obediently removed the helmet to reveal a young, quiet face wearing a strange poncho. Yan Fei’s mouth quirked, there was too much contrast between the man’s face and appearance. He could not trust others after getting betrayed yesterday.

The person looked a bit older than 20, nothing too striking. Children of higher families were generally more mature and needed to excel at concealing their emotions. The young face seemed genial enough.

22 year old Luo Xun’s student face was deceptive and ambiguous. Especially considering his past life, only a sliver of anger and discomfort showed on his face.