Stench

Having found no immediate anomalies, Chi Bai decided to forgo this room.

He then turned his attention to the room directly opposite.

Its door remained wide open.

Despite a thorough search, he found nothing of use within.

His next destination was the room directly across from his own apartment.

This door, however, was locked.

Pressing his ear against the cold wood, he listened intently.

It seemed empty at first, yet a faint, strange sound, like a guttural ‘ho-ho’ rasping from a throat, subtly reached his ears.

A sense of dread washed over Chi Bai, prompting the chilling thought: ‘Could there be a zombie in there?’

Suddenly, as if sensing the presence of a living being just beyond the threshold, whatever lurked inside slammed against the door with a jarring thump.

A relentless barrage of heavy thuds followed, as though the creature was desperately trying to force its way out.

Its howls and roars echoed incessantly.

There was no mistaking it; this was undeniably a zombie.

Chi Bai heard similar, rhythmic thudding from the door next door, signaling the presence of another zombie relentlessly pounding within its confines.

Simultaneously, from behind him, the door to the room near the staircase beside his own apartment—a space he had deliberately reserved for his final investigation—also erupted with the guttural roars of a zombie.

Unlike the zombies temporarily contained behind the two doors before him, this particular door was merely ajar.

Chi Bai had initially assumed it was properly closed, but it had, in fact, not been secured.

Since the door swung outwards, the zombie, by merely pressing against it, immediately forced it open.

As the creature lurched forth, Chi Bai felt his very sanity plummeting.

While he was aware of zombies conceptually, he had never once watched a zombie film.

He found such creatures utterly repulsive and terrifying, a sight he genuinely disliked.

Yet, he had never in his wildest dreams imagined he would one day confront a zombie face-to-face.

Its skin was a ghastly ashen hue, putrid and oozing with pus, with patches where bones were even starkly exposed.

Its eyes were cloudy, rolled back into its head, and utterly devoid of pupils.

Chi Bai could not fathom where he found the presence of mind to observe the zombie’s grotesque appearance.

As the creature charged, his initial, confident resolve to slay the monster shattered instantly.

An ordinary person, one who had never witnessed such a horrifying sight, much less killed a chicken or fish for their own meals, would find this intensely stimulating scene utterly overwhelming.

As he watched the zombie lunge forward, his legs felt as if they were suddenly filled with lead, rendering them heavy and utterly unresponsive.

His mind raced, a frantic, looping refrain of ‘What do I do? What do I do?’ echoing endlessly.

He stood frozen, helplessly watching the zombie close in.

Just as it was about to pin him down and sink its teeth into him, an unexpected surge of his innate germophobia kicked in.

His leg moved seemingly on its own accord, delivering a powerful kick that sent the zombie sprawling.

Only after the zombie was sent flying did Chi Bai realize the sheer violence of his own gasps, as if he were in the throes of an asthma attack.

As he kicked the zombie, a piece of putrid flesh detached, hitting the ground with a wet plop and a sickening splatter of pus.

A wave of profound nausea washed over Chi Bai.

He yearned to close his eyes, but remembering the immediate threat of the zombie, he quickly seized the moment before it could fully regain its footing.

Gripping his knife with both hands, he lunged forward, plunging the blade deep into the zombie’s stomach.

To his utter dismay, the blade sank in completely, yet the zombie exhibited no reaction whatsoever.

He immediately released the hilt and recoiled, stumbling backward.

His nostrils were assaulted by the putrid, sweet, and metallic stench, mingled with the musty odor of damp earth, a horrific blend he had inhaled during their close proximity.

Seeing the zombie, still impaled by the knife, about to lunge again, he squeezed his eyes shut and, as a desperate, last-ditch effort, willed a ball of crackling electricity to coalesce in his hand, then hurled it at the creature.

A searing crackle echoed, followed by a deafening explosion.

Chi Bai opened his eyes to discover the zombie had been utterly obliterated.

He couldn’t help but stare in stunned shock at his own hand, then at the charred, block-like remains of the zombie.

The pungent scent of burning mingled with a strange, meaty odor in the air, prompting Chi Bai to wave a hand dismissively before his nose.

‘That is absolutely putrid,’ he thought, wrinkling his nose.

Behind him, two more zombies continued their relentless pounding on the doors, their rhythmic thudding accompanied by the grating scrape of their nails against the wood.

Chi Bai had no idea how much longer the doors could withstand the assault.

He knew he had to act swiftly and decisively.

Gathering another ball of crackling electricity, he slammed it directly onto the door.

Immediately, the entire door, starting from the point where his hand had made contact, began to crackle and spark with electric currents.

A prolonged sizzling sound filled the air, and then, the zombie behind the door fell silent.

Chi Bai exhaled sharply in relief.

‘It seems to work,’ he mused, a flicker of grim satisfaction crossing his features.

Following suit, he then administered a similar ‘electric spa’ to the zombie behind the adjacent door.

Finally, a profound silence descended upon the corridor.