C8 He Found Liu Rui

Han Feng was in luck. After the Winter Soldier took out the zombie, Han Feng handed him the fire axe to wield as a weapon. Seated in the car, Han Feng watched the gold coins tally up in the system, his heart swelling with happiness.

36... 41... 53... 64...

In under an hour, thanks to the Winter Soldier, Han Feng had amassed 38 gold coins, bringing his total to 64.

The second mobilization soldier would be summoned soon! Han Feng thought, his excitement palpable.

"Winter Soldier, hand me the fire axe and stay close to protect me," Han Feng instructed, admiring the Winter Soldier's efficient movements and pondering his own approach to the zombies. He was acutely aware that if the Red Alert System ever vanished, he wouldn't last on his own. This spurred Han Feng's desire to hone his skills, to carve out a place for himself in this post-apocalyptic world.

Axe in hand, with the Winter Soldier at his heels, Han Feng boldly approached the nearest isolated zombie.

"Heh!" he grunted softly, careful to keep the noise down.

"Crack." The fire axe struck the zombie's neck precisely but made no further sound as it got lodged in the creature's bones.

In a rush, Han Feng tried to retrieve the axe, not expecting the zombie to come along for the ride! In his panic, he'd forgotten the axe was still embedded in the zombie's neck!

As the zombie drew closer, Han Feng was paralyzed with fear, unable to utter a word, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

The zombie's mouth gaped open, its head cocked, ready to bite into Han Feng.

"Bang!" The zombie staggered back several steps and collapsed.

It was the Winter Soldier, who had swiftly delivered a punch to the zombie, saving Han Feng yet again. The Winter Soldier moved quickly towards the fallen foe, which was trying to rise. But the Winter Soldier was quicker, yanking the axe free and delivering a brutal chop.

The zombie lay motionless. Han Feng, sensing the increase in gold coins, remained silent for a long while as the Winter Soldier took his place behind him once more.

A gentle breeze occasionally swept through the quiet street, where the two stood amidst the chaos for a considerable time.

It was too risky. The Winter Soldier executed his moves with such precision, yet in his own hands, he had nearly met his demise. If he hadn't been following the Winter Soldier but instead had split up to act independently, Han Feng shuddered to think what might have happened.

Realizing the peril in dispatching zombies himself, Han Feng pondered why not delegate the task to the Winter Soldier?

"Go break the zombie's limbs and bring it back to me alive. And be careful not to get bitten," Han Feng instructed after a few minutes of contemplation.

"Understood." With that, the Winter Soldier set off in search of the zombie.

Han Feng turned back to his car and lit a cigarette.

Soon after, the sound of something being dragged reached Han Feng's ears from afar, signaling the Winter Soldier's return with the zombie.

The Winter Soldier dumped the creature on the ground. It howled and flailed helplessly, its limbs already shattered by the Winter Soldier's handiwork.

"Hand me the fire axe," Han Feng commanded.

Gripping the fire axe after a satisfying drag of his cigarette, Han Feng flicked the butt to the ground and advanced on the prone zombie. With a few decisive strikes, the zombie was no more.

With the zombie dispatched, Han Feng's focus shifted back to the Red Alert system. Why was the reward still a single gold coin?

Staring at the 66 gold coins, Han Feng was lost in thought. It appeared that exploiting a loophole in the system wasn't going to be an option; the system didn't afford Han Feng any such opportunity.

'Let it be,' he thought, deciding to put the gold coin issue on hold. The priority was to locate Liu Rui.

"Get in, we're leaving." Han Feng passed the fire axe to the Winter Soldier and climbed into the car, heading for the villa district where Liu Rui resided.

Minutes later, Han Feng pulled up beside a villa.

The district was home to the affluent, sparsely populated, and since the zombie outbreak had occurred at around ten in the morning, there were hardly any zombies to be found—just one or two aimlessly wandering, while the rest had been confined indoors before the chaos ensued.

"Get out and stay alert," Han Feng instructed the Winter Soldier before exiting the vehicle himself.

He approached Liu Rui's residence and rapped on the door. "Knock, knock, knock."

Silence. Was the kid not home? Impossible, he hadn't stirred all morning. With a moment's hesitation, Han Feng knocked again, louder this time.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Then a heavy "Thud!" echoed from behind the door.

Oh no, zombies inside!

Of course, he had forgotten about the outbreak—zombies were everywhere. Liu Rui... he couldn't have turned, could he?

"Winter Soldier, break it down!" Han Feng stepped back.

With a forceful "Thud!" the Winter Soldier's boot met the wooden door. It swung open without shattering, but the zombie behind wasn't so fortunate, flopping to the ground as the door flung open. Without hesitation, the Winter Soldier charged in and eliminated the threat.

As the house fell silent, Han Feng peered inside and stepped through the doorway.

He first checked the fallen zombie—it wasn't Liu Rui, but the nanny.

He exhaled a relieved "Phew..." Thank goodness it wasn't him.

A quick sweep of the ground floor revealed no one else. Naturally, with zombies around, no one else would be there.

"Upstairs," Han Feng directed, leading the way with the Winter Soldier on his heels.

"We'll check each room, stay close," he advised as they ascended, mindful that while the villa was unlikely to harbor many zombies, caution was paramount.

"Liu Rui? Are you here?" Han Feng called out, pushing open several doors to no avail.

Then, a faint sound caught his ear from the direction of the bathroom.

"Let's check it out," he whispered to the Winter Soldier.

At the bathroom door, Han Feng called softly, "Liu Rui, is that you?" He then gestured for the Winter Soldier to stay close—fearing what—or who—might be on the other side.

From the bathroom came a voice, "Boss Han? Is that you?"

Relieved, Han Feng replied, "Open the door."

"Ah? Boss Han! You've finally come!" Liu Rui flung open the bathroom door and, crying, threw his arms around Han Feng.

"Everything's okay now. What are you doing in the bathroom?" Han Feng soothed Liu Rui.

"This morning, I got up to use the toilet, and before I was even done, I heard the nanny making a racket outside! I yelled at her, 'Are you out of your mind?' But then she came at me, trying to bite me! Thank goodness I shut the door fast enough, and it was sturdy! I was too scared to leave, so I hid for four hours with no phone signal. Thank goodness you showed up! She didn't bite you, did she?" Liu Rui was terrified, but the sight of his close friend brought a stream of words pouring out.

"You're safe now, come on out," Han Feng said with a wry smile, helping Liu Rui to his feet and out of the bathroom.

Reaching the staircase, Han Feng saw two zombies roaming the first floor, likely drawn by the noise of Winter Soldier's door-kicking. As he pondered their next move, he felt a weight in his hands; Liu Rui's legs had given out, his face ashen, muttering, "What in the world... They're back again..."

"Winter Soldier, handle them," Han Feng instructed, steadying Liu Rui once more.

"Understood." Winter Soldier descended with his fire axe, and within seconds, he was back at Han Feng's side.

"Who is this?" Liu Rui, having been on edge, had overlooked Winter Soldier amidst the relief of seeing Han Feng and the fear of the zombies. Now that the immediate threat was gone, he took notice of the burly man accompanying Han Feng.

"Uh... he's our protector. I can't go into details right now, just know that you're safe," Han Feng reassured Liu Rui, then added after a pause, "There's no one else at your place, right?"

"No one's left... Whoa! His gun, it's not real, is it?" Liu Rui's eyes were fixed on the AK47 carried by Winter Soldier.

"It's all real—the gas mask, his outfit, everything..." Han Feng noticed the flicker of curiosity in Liu Rui's eyes and preemptively addressed the questions Liu Rui was about to ask.

"Got any food? Water? Let's take a break," Han Feng inquired, effectively silencing Liu Rui with his questions.

"Yes, there's some in the kitchen. But him..." Liu Rui's gaze remained fixed on the Winter Soldier, his eyes darting over the figure as if he wanted to voice a question but held back. Pointing toward the first-floor kitchen, his eyes betrayed a hint of fear.