Apocalypse Ground Zero: Refusing To Leave Home-Chapter 71: They Were Coming

Lingyun moved first, the bags hooked over his left arm pulling his balance off-center while he checked out the storefront window.

He didn’t adjust the weight of the bags, letting them cut into his arm. There wasn’t time for comfort they needed to get everything to the SUV...now.

Chenghai followed close behind with boxes of cereal and crackers and cookies stacked high against his chest, his movements controlled despite the strain. Zhenlan followed him with as many bags as he could carry with one hand. His other hand was empty and ready if he needed to fight.

Yuche took the rear, his injured shoulder held tight against his body, his good hand free, and his focus already shifting past the doorway and into the street beyond..

They stepped out as a unit.

The light had shifted while they were inside and hadn’t noticed. The sun was dropping fast, the streets were dimmer now, shadows stretching longer between the parked cars. The SUV sat fifteen meters ahead, exactly where they’d left it.

The space between them and the vehicle was no longer as empty as it had been when they arrived.

Instead, five zombies were standing directly between the men and their escape. There were three more shifting in from the left, and even more movement threading through the cars on the right.

These weren’t the mindless creatures they had seen earlier that day. They weren’t scattered around, waiting for something to cross their paths.

Instead, they were like wolves or hyenas, actively hunting for food.

Lingyun registered the count instantly, his eyes tracking movement instead of numbers, mapping where the gap still existed and how quickly it was shrinking. They weren’t surrounded quite yet.

But they were blocked.

He moved.

The first zombie lunged before they had taken more than two steps, its body low and fast, hands reaching for his chest. Lingyun twisted, the bags swinging with the motion as his right arm finally came forward.

The gun appeared in his hand.

Hidden until now under his shirt and inside the waistband of his pants.

He fired at point-blank range, the shot cracking through the street and snapping the zombie’s head back. The body dropped immediately, but the sound echoed all around them.

Too far.

Too loud.

Lingyun stepped over the without slowing, already angling toward the next opening.

Two more of the undead closed from the left, drawn in by the shot. Lingyun fired again—one, then a second—both headshots, both clean. The bodies collapsed in sequence, but the damage was already done.

The sound of the gun going off attracted more zombies, and Lingyun could see the shadows off to the side shifting at the edges.

More shapes turning toward them and Lingyun’s grip tightened. "I only have nine rounds," he muttered, his voice tainted with worry.

"That’s fine," Yuche answered, already reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small box of loose rounds, flipping it open with one hand. "I’ve got more if you need them."

Lingyun nodded and Yuche shifted so that he was now close to Lingyun’s right, matching his pace without looking at him. The two moved in a way that was like a dance only they knew. Yuche’s attention moving around at the threats, counting the bullets and the fallen zombies as Lingyun continued to fire.

Zhenlan shifted left as another shape broke from between the cars, too fast, too close. He moved to intercept and... tripped.

His gaze dropped for a fraction of a second and his eyes widened as he saw a flash of sliver in the dimming light.

Metal.

A crowbar lay near the curb, half-hidden beneath debris.

He grabbed it in one motion, pulling it free and bringing it up as the zombie closed in on him. The strike landed solidly and bone gave way with a sharp crack, the creature collapsing instantly, no longer moving.

Zhenlan reset his stance, the crowbar steady in his grip now. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Chenghai moved through the opening without breaking stride, the boxes still in his arms.

A zombie lunged at him from the right, its hands clawing upward. But Chenghai didn’t drop the load. Instead, he drove forward, his shoulder slamming into the zombie’s chest and knocking it off balance.

The follow-up came immediately—his elbow snapping into the side of its head with enough force to twist it sideways.

The body dropped and Chenghai kept moving.

There was no hesitation.

No wasted motion.

The SUV was closer now.

Maybe ten meters.

But it might as well have been in the next city.

Lingyun fired again, the shot clean, the recoil snapping harder into his palm than it should have. The gun felt hotter now, sharper, each shot punching back faster than expected as fire seemed to surround the bullets.

He didn’t question it, he simple adjusted and kept moving.

A zombie broke from the right, low and fast, trying to attack Lingyun from a blindside. But Yuche intercepted it first.

His hand snapped out, catching the wrist mid-lunge. The grip held—too tight, stronger than it should have been—and he twisted sharply, redirecting the body into the side of a car.

The car’s door dented under the impact of the creature and Yuche let go of the wrist he had been holding. There was no follow-through... no delay.

"Move," Chenghai pushed, already angling toward the SUV.

Eight meters.

Lingyun fired again, dropping another target that had closed too fast, but the space didn’t hold. More dark shapes stepped into the gap immediately, feeding into the opening instead of leaving it clear.

Six meters.

Zhenlan swung the crowbar again, the motion controlled, efficient, buying just enough space for Chenghai to push forward without being cut off.

Five meters.

Lingyun’s gun clicked empty. "Reload," he snapped, but Yuche was already there with the new rounds in hand. Lingyun threw the clip at Yuche and in a matter of seconds it was back in the grip.

He took aim and fired, and another zombie fell at his feet.

Four meters.

He fired again, never taking a break, the bags on his other arm straining his muscles. But he hit every target.

Another body dropped.

Another took its place.

Three meters.

The sound behind them was building now—moans overlapping, footsteps dragging, more bodies converging from the far end of the street. The gun had pulled them in.

Too many.

Two meters.

Chenghai reached the SUV first, shifting the boxes to one arm as he yanked the rear door open. He loaded the supplies quickly, not stacking, not organizing—just clearing them from his grip and into the vehicle.

Zhenlan followed, crowbar still in hand, tossing the bag in and turning back to hold the space for a second longer.

Yuche moved to the driver’s side, catching the keys that Chenghai threw at him.

Lingyun held the rear.

He fired again.

Another shot.

Another drop.

But it didn’t matter.

The gap wasn’t holding anymore.

For every body that fell, another stepped into place, and the street was filling faster than they could clear it.

Lingyun didn’t step back, but he didn’t fire again.

He watched the space collapse instead, the distance to the open doors of the SUV no longer something they controlled.

Not anymore.

"Fuck," hissed Chenghai, and Lingyun couldn’t help but agree. "We’re screwed."