Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 6 – Sound East Strike West

Lin Fan pushed open the ajar door of the security booth.

It was empty inside.

The thermos on the table was still giving off a faint wisp of steam, a clear sign that the security guard had fled in a great hurry.

The weapon rack on the wall was completely empty; things like stun batons and rubber clubs had all been taken.

“He sure ran fast.”

Zhou Ming poked his head in for a look and curled his lip.

Lin Fan ignored him and walked to the window. Her gaze passed through the rusty iron bars as she surveyed the situation across the street.

Fifty meters.

Before the apocalypse, it was a walk of less than a minute.

Now, these fifty meters were a veritable death zone.

On the street, six figures wandered aimlessly.

An office worker in a wrinkled suit, a middle-aged woman in a blood-stained apron, and even a high school student with a backpack.

Their skin was ashen, their eyes turbid, but their movements were not sluggish.

“What do we do?” Zhou Ming lowered his voice, gripping the cleaver in his hand tighter. “Just charge across?”

Lin Fan’s almond-shaped eyes glanced at him.

“Six zombies. If we get tangled up with them, we’ll be trapped in the supermarket.”

Zhou Ming’s brow furrowed, knowing he had said something foolish.

“Then… do we wait for them to wander off on their own?”

“They won’t leave.” Lin Fan’s gaze swept over the abandoned cars. “When zombies don’t have a clear target, they just wander in place, unless…”

Her words trailed off.

Unless there was a loud enough noise.

Lin Fan’s gaze fell upon the rows of cold steel shells not far away, and a plan instantly formed in her mind.

“Ming-ge, look at those cars.”

Zhou Ming followed her line of sight. “What about them?”

“Cars have alarms.”

Lin Fan turned her head. On her bewitching face was an expression that made Zhou Ming’s heart race—a mixture of fragility and resolve.

“If we smash a car window, the alarm will lure them all over.”

Zhou Ming’s eyes lit up. “A diversion?”

“Exactly.” Lin Fan nodded. “As long as we draw them far enough away, we’ll have enough time to get into the supermarket.”

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The plan was simple and crude, but in its execution, the person responsible for smashing the window would undoubtedly become the primary target for all the zombies.

“I’ll go.”

Lin Fan spoke calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter.

“I’m more agile than you and a faster runner. After I lure them away, I can get away quickly. You wait here. The moment you see them drawn away, rush to the supermarket.”

“No!”

Without a second thought, Zhou Ming grabbed Lin Fan’s slender wrist, his tone anxious.

“It’s too dangerous! Absolutely not! What if you…”

Seeing his face contorted with nervousness, Lin Fan laughed inwardly.

He took the bait.

“But who else is there besides me?”

She lowered her eyelids, her voice carrying a perfectly measured tremor of helplessness.

“You’re strong, but not agile enough. It’ll be trouble if you get caught.”

This sentence was like a needle, precisely piercing Zhou Ming’s pride and igniting his fierce protective instincts.

Let the woman he loved take such a risk?

That was something he absolutely could not tolerate!

“No, I can’t let you go!” Zhou Ming’s tone was resolute. “If anyone’s going, it’s me!”

“Ming-ge…” Lin Fan looked up, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with tears, full of emotion and worry.

“Don’t worry, I’m a fast runner!” Her gaze made his blood boil, and he pounded his chest. “And I’m strong. Even if I get caught, I can take out one or two! You’re different. You… nothing can happen to you!”

Lin Fan “struggled” for a moment, as if making a difficult decision.

“But…”

“No buts!”

Zhou Ming cut her off, tightening his grip on her hand.

“Just wait for me here. I’ll be right back!”

Lin Fan watched his foolish, love-struck charge, the abacus in her mind clattering away.

Zhou Ming’s physical fitness was indeed far superior to this body’s, and with his head clouded by hormones, he was the perfect tool to use right now.

“Then… you must, you must be careful.”

She instructed him in a tearful voice, her other hand covering the back of his.

“Don’t worry! For you, I will definitely come back!”

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Zhou Ming felt a surge of power course through him, his eyes burning with the flame of love.

Lin Fan rolled her eyes inwardly.

For me?

No, just for the unrealistic, lewd fantasies in your head.

Zhou Ming gave her a deep look, as if to engrave her image into his heart, then turned resolutely, pushed open the security booth door, and disappeared outside.

The worry on Lin Fan’s face vanished instantly, replaced by cold indifference.

She leaned against the window, watching her hound like a hunter.

Zhou Ming crept along the base of the wall, moving nimbly. He soon approached a white sedan farthest from the horde of zombies.

He took a deep breath, raised the cleaver, and smashed the handle viciously against the car window!

Clang!

The glass shattered on impact!

The next second, an alarm that tore through the air exploded!

Wooo—! Wooo—! Wooo—!

All the wandering zombies on the street, as if a switch had been flipped, snapped their heads around. Their empty eye sockets locked onto the source of the sound, and then they broke into a run, charging madly toward it!

Seeing this, Zhou Ming took off, sprinting in the opposite direction of the supermarket as planned.

The street was empty.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Fan pushed the door open.

Like a nimble cat, she kept her body low and crossed the fifty-meter death zone at top speed, ducking into the open side door of the supermarket.

The supermarket was a wreck. Shelves were overturned, and goods were scattered all over the floor.

Behind the checkout counter was a patch of dried, dark red blood.

Lin Fan paid it no mind, directly pulling out several shopping carts from behind the counter and beginning a frantic sweep.

Rice, flour, cooking oil.

Canned fruit and meat, instant noodles, compressed biscuits.

Salt, sugar, lighters, batteries.

She moved as fast as a shadow, her hands a blur as she accurately swept supplies from the shelves into the carts with terrifying efficiency.

In less than ten minutes, three shopping carts were piled high like small mountains.

But it wasn’t enough.

She rushed to the daily necessities section, grabbing tape, rope, trash bags… She filled half a cart with sanitary pads of various sizes alone and didn’t even spare the dish soap.

In the apocalypse, cleanliness and hygiene were also lifesavers.

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Just as she filled the fifth shopping cart, the shrill alarm in the distance abruptly stopped.

Lin Fan’s movements paused.

The alarm had stopped, which meant Zhou Ming had either escaped or… died.

Although he was just a tool, he still had his uses for now.

Lin Fan quickly stuffed the most important food and medicine into her own backpack, then mentally transferred another portion into her System Space.

After doing all this, she walked to the supermarket entrance and looked in the direction where the alarm had sounded.

A few minutes later, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the street.

It was Zhou Ming!

He was sprinting for his life toward the supermarket, with two zombies he couldn’t shake off hot on his heels.

Useless.

Lin Fan cursed inwardly but made an immediate decision.

She grabbed the simple long spear, and instead of retreating, she charged out of the supermarket.

“Ming-ge! Over here!”

Her clear cry was exceptionally distinct on the dead-silent street.

Hearing her voice, Zhou Ming’s face first lit up with wild joy, then turned to terror.

“Ruyan! Go back! It’s dangerous!”

Lin Fan paid him no attention, instead charging straight toward the two zombies.

Closer!

The one in the lead was the zombie in the suit.

Lin Fan lowered her center of gravity. The instant the zombie swiped its sharp claws at her, the long spear in her hand shot out like a viper striking. Its tip arrived first, stabbing with unerring precision into the zombie’s eye socket!

Puchi!

The sharp blade pierced through its brain without resistance, exiting from the back of its skull and bringing with it a gush of foul-smelling black blood.

The suit-wearing zombie’s movements came to an abrupt halt, and it pitched forward stiffly.

A single, fatal blow!

The other zombie was already upon her.

Lin Fan yanked her spear free, and with a flick of her wrist, the sharp blade drew a cold arc as it slashed horizontally at the zombie’s neck.

The cut was deep, but it didn’t sever the neck completely.

The zombie shrieked, still reaching for her with its claws.

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Just then, Zhou Ming let out a roar and, dual-wielding cleavers, viciously chopped down on the back of the zombie’s head!

Crack!

With the dull thud of a cracking skull, the zombie stopped moving for good.

“Hah… hah…”

Zhou Ming leaned on his knees, gasping for breath, his back soaked with sweat.

He looked up at Lin Fan, his eyes filled more with worry than with the fear of what had just happened.

“Why did you rush out?! That was too dangerous!”

“I was worried about you.”

Lin Fan retracted her spear. On her pretty face, now splattered with a few drops of black blood, she displayed the perfect amount of panic and concern.

“When I saw you being chased, I… how could I possibly hide inside?”

Those words, like a warm current, instantly washed away all of Zhou Ming’s fatigue and fear.

Liu Ruyan… she… she had risked her life and charged out to save him!

He had lured the zombies away for her, and she had fought to the death for him!

This was a two-way street!

“Ruyan…”

Zhou Ming was moved beyond words. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Fan interrupted him.

“Let’s not talk now. We shouldn’t stay here.” Lin Fan pointed into the distance. “The commotion just now could attract more of them at any moment.”

Zhou Ming nodded forcefully, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

“How is it in the supermarket?”

“The haul is good.”

Lin Fan led him into the supermarket.

When Zhou Ming saw the carts filled to the brim with supplies, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“This… this much?!”

“I took everything I could.”

Lin Fan began to calmly delegate tasks.

“Hurry and pack everything you can carry. We’ll find a way to hide the rest.”

“I’ll just take this backpack.”

The two immediately got to work, taking stock of their spoils.