The life-and-death scene at dusk had quite a significant impact on Zhang Su and the three others. After returning to room 801, they silently threw themselves into training, as if only physical exhaustion could dispel the fear in their hearts.
The intense training accelerated the consumption of food, and even Zhong Xiaoshan, who usually skipped dinner, slurped down a bowl of snail noodles.
Night fell, with a bright moon but few stars.
The three of them sat around the coffee table; a small lamp emitted a faint glow. The hazy light made them appear mysterious, giving the atmosphere a strange feel, like a secret gathering of some religious cult.
"Brother Su, the consumption of food and water is a bit fast..."
Zheng Xinyu said, feeling slightly troubled.
Zhang Su, of course, had noticed this problem, and it was precisely why he had changed policies.
"The accelerated consumption of resources is because we've intensified our training. This is a necessary compromise. If food and water run out, we can go out and find more. If we don't hurry and get stronger, we'll only end up getting eliminated!"
The previous policy was to conserve food and slow down consumption, but now it was about exchanging food for muscle, with growth being the top priority.
The two of them nodded in agreement with Zhang Su's statement. Sitting around and eating without taking action was not a solution; that would truly mean surviving one day at a time, and when resources were deplete, the Death God would easily claim them.
"So, we can't just stay at home; we need to start collecting supplies and integrate real combat into our daily training!"
Zhang Su raised his finger, speaking very seriously.
"You mean..." Zheng Xinyu's eyes lit up as she pointed downstairs.
Zhang Su understood that she was referring to the van filled with various supplies, shaking his head slightly: "The situation in the underground parking lot is unclear. Let's not go there unless absolutely necessary!"
"True enough..." Zheng Xinyu pondered with a furrowed brow and then suggested, "The unit doors are locked; maybe we can start searching from the other residents within our unit?"
Zhang Su nodded: "That's right! Our unit has a total of twenty-four households. Based on the occupancy rate, there should be about seven or eight homes without occupants. Excluding our floor and Brother Li's, that leaves a maximum of fourteen or fifteen households!"
"I have a way to roughly determine the occupancy situation of our unit!"
Without waiting for Zhang Su and the others to respond, Zheng Xinyu quickly returned to her room to fetch her phone: "Most people in the owner's group chat have updated their real address. We just need to search for 03-1, 3-1, or Building 3 here to get a rough idea!"
"That's a great idea, Sister Xinyu; you talk, and I'll take notes!"
Zhong Xiaoshan opened the notepad on her phone, eager to demonstrate her usefulness.
"Alright then, here... the first floor is fully occupied, second floor..."
Quickly, a list was compiled.
"The first, third, and fourth floors are fully occupied; no one is in the 2nd unit of the second, fifth, and eighth floors; the eighth floor doesn't matter. The sixth, ninth, and eleventh floors have no 1st unit, and we are unsure about the seventh, tenth, and twelfth floors, is that correct?"
Zhang Su looked at the list and asked Zheng Xinyu.
"That's right, but an absent listing doesn't necessarily mean no one is there. They might not have updated their name, or perhaps they never joined the group." Zheng Xinyu replied as she turned off her phone.
"Conversely, those who updated their address might not be living here either. Anyway, it's somewhat useful as a reference. That's it for tonight; tomorrow, we'll start inspecting the floors!"
With the discussion concluded, Zhang Su gave an insightful glance at the somewhat awkward Zhong Xiaoshan.
"Then I'll... go rest now."
Feeling a bit uneasy, Zhong Xiaoshan stood up, realizing that Zhang Su had no intention of letting her stay the night.
After seeing off Zhong Xiaoshan, Zheng Xinyu looked through the peephole to confirm that room 802 had closed its door. She tentatively asked, "Should we have let her sleep over here?"
"It's not necessary for now," Zhang Su shook his head, then with a mischievous smile said, "Seeing how concerned you are for her, I could inconvenience myself and go stay with her!"
"Oh, stop it!" Zheng Xinyu turned and punched Zhang Su.
"As you said, I won't go against a woman's wishes."
With that, Zhang Su proceeded to open the door.
Zheng Xinyu blocked the door, insisting, "I misspoke. What I meant to say was 'screw you'!"
"You're so petty... We've all been worn out today, and you still manage to have the dirtiest thoughts!"
Zhang Su turned to head to the bathroom but, remembering there was no water, shrugged his shoulders helplessly and wandered to the bedroom, dismissing Zheng Xinyu with a wave of his hand.
"Screw you and your grandpa, it was you who suggested going over there, damn it." Zheng Xinyu muttered behind Zhang Su, not backing down. Since she couldn't speak loudly, she ranted quietly, lest she be out of 'range'...
A gentleman like Zhang Su, true to his word, did nothing and had a good night's sleep to recharge.
"That was so damn relaxing!"
The next morning, Zhang Su opened the room window, took in a breath of the chilly air, and stretched lazily.
Previously, he couldn't sleep until two or three in the morning. But now, worn out during the day with no mental stimulation, he could fall asleep by ten and get up between seven or eight instead of late morning.
By nine in the morning, Zhong Xiaoshan dragged her aching body to room 801. She had thought the hospital workload was tough, but it was nothing compared to fitness training.
Fortunately, it was still within a tolerable range, ensuring she wouldn't collapse from overexertion.
Zhang Su was aware that both Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan had a significant burden on their physical capabilities, but the pressure to survive was even greater, leaving no room for extended rest.
"I thought hard about it last night; we should start inspecting upwards. To ensure safety, let's block the stairs on the seventh floor!"
"Block the descent path? Why? Zombies aren't agile on stairs."
Zheng Xinyu was a bit confused. The previous day, she had seen zombies stumble as they chased people fleeing the area, struggling to clamber over rubble.
"Zombies are just slow on stairs; it's not that they can't climb at all! Besides, preventing zombies is only part of it; we also need to prevent others from taking advantage of us. We never know if there are other survivors in our unit!"
Zhang Su's eyes flickered with an inexplicable emotion.
Zhong Xiaoshan, while massaging her arm, said, "It would be great if there were other survivors; more hands would help."
"Ha..." Zhang Su chuckled coldly, then shook his head, "In minor calamities, I'd believe in the goodness of humanity. But under these circumstances, it's better not to trust strangers than to trust them!"
"I'm lucky to have met kind people like Brother Su and Sister Xinyu."
Zhong Xiaoshan aptly gave a rainbow compliment.
"No need for flattery, the plan is as follows: time to block that pathway!"
With that, Zhang Su stood up and motioned for the other two to get to work.
First, they tried to wedge a sofa in the stairwell. Unfortunately, it was either too big for the safety door or too small to get stuck. Ultimately, they stacked a dressing table from Zhong Xiaoshan's place on top of the sofa, which finally managed to block the stairs.
Zhang Su tied two iron spoons to the dressing table, making a makeshift alarm that jangled at the slightest shake. The group was very satisfied with this simple alert system.
With obstacles in place, getting to the eighth floor became extremely difficult. Forget zombies; if anyone came by, clearing the path would definitely make noise, giving them enough time to react.
As for the elevator...
After stopping on the sixth floor that day, it hadn't moved since, leaving its status—damaged or not—unknown.