Sixty meters… fifty meters… forty meters…
More than a hundred zombies dragged their heavy feet forward, advancing slowly yet relentlessly toward the crowd. They formed a semi-circle, gradually tightening their encirclement. Meanwhile, the throng of people at the theater entrance remained stuck, unable to move forward even an inch.
Finally, someone in the crowd could no longer suppress their fear. A curly-haired woman in her thirties suddenly shrieked and broke into a desperate sprint, dashing away from the group.
"No! Come back! Even if you escape from here, there are bound to be just as many zombies outside!" the young police officer holding a megaphone urgently called out.
But the woman, overwhelmed by sheer terror, paid no heed to his warning. Her sole focus was escaping. She even abandoned her once-prized limited-edition LV handbag, channeling all her strength into a desperate sprint toward a gap where the zombies had yet to close in. Her sudden burst of speed nearly outpaced an average adult male.
Unfortunately, she overlooked one crucial detail—her high heels.
The rapid movement proved too much for the delicate heels, which snapped under the strain. The woman barely made it twenty meters before she fell forward, tumbling across the ground like a rolling barrel. Momentum carried her three to four more meters before she came to a stop, groaning in pain as she lay sprawled on the pavement. She struggled to get up but failed each time.
By then, the nearest zombie was less than ten meters away. Under the bright plaza lights, its decayed and festering face was so vividly illuminated that even the strands of rotting hair could be seen. The sight was so horrifying that the woman didn't even scream—she simply fainted on the spot, choosing unconsciousness over facing the horror.
"Guo, hold this for me!"
The young police officer maintaining order quickly handed his megaphone to a colleague beside him. Without hesitation, he drew his baton and charged toward the unconscious woman.
Zombies had a peculiar trait. While they typically shuffled along like feeble old men, the moment they got close to a living person, they would suddenly explode with frightening speed and strength, lunging at their prey. This abrupt shift in movement often caught people off guard, leading to fatal consequences.
As the young officer lifted the unconscious woman into his arms, he unknowingly stepped into the attack range of the first zombie. In an instant, a rotting face oozing with pus lunged at him. Panicked, he instinctively raised his baton, just barely wedging it between the zombie's gnarled yellow teeth.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, two more zombies rushed in from the sides, lunging like ravenous dogs toward him and the woman in his arms.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as the officer braced for death, a dark figure streaked past him like a storm, sending a gust of wind in its wake. Under the glimmer of flashing blades, three zombie heads rolled to the ground like fallen pumpkins. Their headless corpses collapsed instantly, splattering foul-smelling fluids onto the pavement.
"Ah… Th-Thank you!" The young officer, stunned and wide-eyed, gazed at the strangely dressed young man before him. It took him a moment to snap out of his daze and express his gratitude.
Xu Mo nodded slightly in acknowledgment. He gestured toward the theater entrance, signaling for the officer to return to his duty of maintaining order. Then, gripping his Spartan short sword, he plunged back into the remaining horde of zombies like a tiger among sheep.
The hundred-odd zombies in the plaza were nothing more than low-tier cannon fodder. They had strength comparable to an ordinary human and moved at an agonizingly slow pace. Without overwhelming numbers, they posed little threat.
To Xu Mo, these scattered zombies were merely slow-moving targets. They barely had time to accelerate before he decapitated them with a single stroke. It was almost effortless.
Dashing nimbly between the undead, Xu Mo was like a reaping machine. Wherever his shadow passed, zombies fell in heaps. With his dual-shard-enhanced Spartan short sword, he didn't need a second strike—each swing of his blade took a head clean off. The battle was completely one-sided.
In less than three minutes, Xu Mo had single-handedly slaughtered the entire horde of over a hundred zombies.
The plaza was now littered with headless corpses and severed heads, scattered across dozens of meters. The gruesome, blood-soaked scene resembled the fabled Asura Hell—a sight that would forever be burned into the memories of those present.
Where there had once been despair, Xu Mo's appearance and his superhuman prowess against the undead filled everyone with newfound hope, like a ray of light piercing through the darkness.
Those who had already retreated inside the building and were watching from the windows, as well as the crowd still stuck at the entrance, erupted into a thunderous roar of applause and cheers. The overwhelming enthusiasm was akin to welcoming a hero returning from the battlefield.
But unlike the naïve civilians, Xu Mo was far from optimistic. He knew that, in the grand scheme of the Apocalyptic Mirage, these hundred zombies were nothing more than an appetizer. When the real threats arrived, whether he could still protect these people remained an open question.
Regardless, the morale boost from his presence was undeniable. With the immediate zombie threat eliminated, order was gradually restored. The remaining survivors swiftly formed lines and made their way into the theater.
However, the cost of the evacuation had been steep. Over forty people—mostly the weak, elderly, and children—had been trampled to death in the chaotic stampede.
Forty lives lost, yet not a single one had fallen to the zombies. Instead, they perished under the feet of their own kind. A cruel and ironic tragedy… a glaring indictment of human nature.
Inside the theater lobby, those who had reached safety frantically searched for their loved ones. While most families managed to reunite, dozens of others were left mourning the permanent loss of their kin. Grief-stricken cries and wails echoed through the hall, casting a somber pall over the crowd.
Who would be the next to die?
Though Xu Mo sympathized with these grieving families, he knew that dwelling on sorrow wouldn't help. The priority now wasn't mourning the dead—it was ensuring that the living survived.
"Officer, may I ask your name?" Xu Mo suddenly turned to the young policewoman.
From his early efforts to maintain order to his courageous rescue attempt, the officer had left a good impression on Xu Mo. In a world increasingly plagued by decay and corruption, it was rare to see someone retain such a genuine, righteous spirit.
"Oh, my last name is Dong. Dong Tian," the officer replied, appearing somewhat flattered by Xu Mo's question. He extended a polite handshake and continued, "You were the one making the announcement over the broadcast earlier, right? How exactly did you—"
"There's no time for that now. The priority is organizing the people inside, reinforcing doors and windows, and fortifying weak points. We need to be ready for the next wave of zombies. Gather as many people as you can to brainstorm solutions, and try to complete all barricading efforts within the next thirty minutes."
Xu Mo knew that without a designated leader, managing the survivors would be impossible. And this diligent officer was undoubtedly the best candidate for the role. Taking advantage of the lingering awe from his recent battle, Xu Mo imposed the task upon him in front of everyone.
"Well… alright then," Dong Tian hesitated only briefly before nodding. After all, ensuring the safety of civilians was a police officer's duty. There was no reason for him to refuse.
To his credit, Dong Tian quickly proved himself to be a capable organizer. Under his direction, people scavenged wooden boards to reinforce windows and dismantled theater seats to block the main entrance. Thanks to his methodical approach, the survivors efficiently utilized their resources, constructing a rudimentary yet effective defensive perimeter in no time.