Surviving the apocalypse with a wife and a system! [GL]

The zombies were somewhat stunned; they were usually the ones biting others, never seeing Bai Li charging at them. However, these mindless monsters, smelling the scent of a living person, immediately pounced on Bai Li. Bai Li nimbly dodged the zombies’ attacks, easily avoiding them. She sidestepped and kicked one of the zombies, while simultaneously wielding her Tang sword with the speed of a hurricane, slashing down at the zombie in front of her.

The first zombie lunged too late and only caught air. Bai Li twisted her body slightly, letting the clawed hand swipe past her shoulder, and then drove her blade down with a clean, fast motion. The sword flashed in the light, quick and sharp, and the zombie dropped before it could even make another sound. Bai Li did not pause to look at it. She had long since learned that the best way to deal with zombies was not to think about them too much. Once you gave them space, they would keep coming. Once you hesitated, they would swarm. So she kept moving, kept cutting, kept her eyes on the next target before the current one was even fully down.

A zombie on her left tried to grab her arm. Bai Li bent her elbow back and slipped out of range, then drove her heel into its knee and knocked it off balance. Another one rushed in from behind, but she had already sensed it and turned halfway around, her Tang sword slicing across its neck in one clean motion. The movement was smooth and practiced, almost like she had done it a hundred times before. Actually, she had done it a lot more than that. The apocalypse did not leave much room for fancy moves. It only cared whether you survived or not. Bai Li had learned to be fast, efficient, and ruthless when she needed to be.

Bai Li sheathed her sword, not lingering on the fight. She turned and decapitated the zombie behind her with both hands, then swung her sword again, turning to behead the zombie she had just been fighting.

The area around her was still full of danger, but Bai Li did not let the noise in her head get in the way. Her breathing stayed steady. Her posture stayed light. She moved as if every step was measured and every turn was already planned. One zombie staggered forward with its jaw hanging open, and Bai Li cut through it before it could reach her. Another stumbled out from behind a broken wall, and she brought her blade up so quickly that the thing did not even get a chance to roar. The fight was ugly in the way all zombie fights were ugly, but Bai Li made it look almost clean. Every movement had purpose. Every strike had an end point. She did not waste energy on anything extra.

Her sword strike continued relentlessly, aiming for the head of the zombie on her right. Just then, the zombie she had kicked over lunged at her again. Bai Li nimbly dodged backward, her Tang sword slicing across the zombie’s neck, sending it sprawling to the ground.

She then hacked at the zombie that had just attacked her. In less than a few minutes, all the zombies around Bai Li were gone.

Even after the last one fell, Bai Li did not immediately relax. She stood still for only a second, watching for any sudden movement, listening for any faint shuffling from nearby. The building courtyard was not completely safe just because this small group was gone. More zombies could wander over at any time, especially if they smelled blood. Bai Li wiped the blade once on a patch of torn cloth hanging from a nearby railing, then glanced back toward the apartment building. The windows above were still quiet, but she knew people were probably watching. They always watched. Ever since the apocalypse started, people had become very quick to peek from behind curtains and very slow to show themselves in person. Bai Li was used to it by now.

At the same time, she was also used to the group chat exploding whenever she went out. The moment anyone saw her killing zombies, the chat would probably light up again, full of questions, guesses, and people trying to ask her for things. Bai Li was not in the mood to deal with that right away. She had things to do first. Supplies to gather, things to check, and maybe later, if she felt like it, she would glance at the phone. Right now, though, she just wanted to keep moving. She looked around the small open space again and then headed farther out, staying alert as she walked.

A few more zombies had begun drifting in from the edge of the road. They moved slowly at first, then faster the moment they noticed her. Bai Li rolled her shoulders once and let out a small breath. ”Come on then,” she muttered under her breath. Her voice was low, almost casual, as if she were dealing with annoying pests instead of dead things with open mouths. The first zombie lunged. Bai Li stepped to the side. The second followed. Bai Li swung once and took it down. The third came in from an awkward angle, but she dropped her center of gravity, ducked under its grab, and sliced through the side of its neck.

She was starting to settle into the rhythm again. That was the thing about Bai Li. Once she got into a fight, the rest of the world seemed to narrow down to distance, movement, timing, and the clean line of her sword. There was no room left for worry about whether Yan Cijin was still thinking about her, or whether Lili was still laughing in the other room, or whether the apology had been enough. For the moment, she only had to deal with what was in front of her. That suited her fine.

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TO BE CONTINUED.