Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 135: Chapter 135 - Cleansing the warehouse

The air inside the warehouse was heavy. Shadows stretched between rows of towering metal shelves, and the hum of dormant machinery buzzed faintly. Somewhere deeper inside, the girl’s sobs had faded, swallowed by the eerie silence.

Shao quickly divided them into pairs.

”Hana, you go with Zhizhi.”

”What? Why me?” Hana whined, crossing her arms.

”Because,” Shao sighed, rubbing his temples, ”you’re useless in a fight, and I don’t want you getting in the way.”

”Excuse me?! I’m not useless! I can—”

”—scream really loud,” Qiu Yue finished for her, adjusting his glasses. ”Great skill. Maybe the zombies will die of secondhand embarrassment.”

Hana gawked.

Shao gave one last glance at Muchen, who stood near the entrance with the taller boy, the fire extinguisher clutched tightly in his hands.

”You stay here. Guard the entrance. If anything happens, shout.”

Muchen frowned but nodded stiffly. He didn’t like being left behind, but someone had to watch the door... just in case.

Shao turned to the others. ”Move in pairs. Sweep every section. Make sure no zombies are left inside.”

Hana let out a dramatic sigh as she turned to her new partner.

”Why do I get stuck with this guy?” she muttered, eyeing Lu Zhi with clear dissatisfaction.

Lu Zhi gasped, clutching his chest. ”Excuse me? I’m an excellent zombie hunter! My reflexes are—”

A muffled clang rang out as he accidentally smacked a metal shelf while swinging his makeshift weapon—an old mop handle he’d found.

Hana slowly turned to him, unimpressed.

”Right. Reflexes.”

Lu Zhi grumbled. ”Let’s just get this over with.”

They moved cautiously between the massive storage racks, stepping around piles of scattered boxes and tipped-over conveyor belts. The flashing emergency lights made everything look more ominous, throwing long shadows that twitched at the edges of their vision.

Hana peeked into one of the aisles. Nothing but stacks of unopened Amazon parcels towering like walls.

”Do you think there are any PS5s in here?” she whispered.

Lu Zhi paused. ”I mean... maybe? But would you really loot in the middle of a zombie—”

A loud crash interrupted him.

Both of them froze.

Something had fallen from a shelf two rows over.

Hana gulped. ”That wasn’t the wind, was it?”

Lu Zhi’s grip on his mop handle tightened. ”Unless the wind moans like a dying man, no.”

A slow, gurgling growl filled the air.

Then another.

Then a third.

Hana and Lu Zhi exchanged looks.

”Run?” Lu Zhi whispered.

Hana nodded.

They turned just as a zombie toppled over a stack of parcels, tumbling onto the floor with a sickening thud.

”OH HELL NO!” Lu Zhi shrieked, flailing his mop wildly.

”FIGHT, DON’T FLAIL!” Hana yelled, grabbing a nearby box and chucking it at the undead’s head.

The zombie staggered back, dazed, just as another crawled over the conveyor belt, its decayed fingers reaching out.

Lu Zhi whacked one in the knees, sending it toppling over. ”Hah! Reflexes, baby!”

Hana stomped on the fallen zombie’s head, crushing it against the concrete floor. ”Less talking, more smashing!”

A third zombie lurched from behind a pillar.

Hana’s eyes widened.

”Zhi, BEHIND YOU!”

Lu Zhi yelled, spinning around just as the zombie lunged.

His mop snapped in half.

”WHAT KIND OF CHEAP-ASS MOP IS THIS?!”

Thinking fast, Hana kicked over a packaged rolling chair toward him. ”Use this!”

Lu Zhi caught it mid-air, flipped it around, and jammed one of the chair’s wheels straight into the zombie’s mouth.

A sickening crunch echoed through the warehouse.

Hana gasped. ”That... actually worked?”

Lu Zhi puffed out his chest. ”Told you I had reflexes.”

Just then, another metal shelf wobbled.

More growls rose.

Lu Zhi paled. ”Hana... I think we woke up more.”

Hana gritted her teeth. ”Shit—fallback! We need to regroup!”

They spun on their heels and ran back toward the others. The zombies chased after them, limbs flailing as they knocked over boxes and crates.

Somewhere near the entrance, Muchen heard the commotion.

His grip on his makeshift bat tightened.

”Here we go...” he muttered.

The thunderous stomps of running feet echoed through the warehouse as Hana and Lu Zhi sprinted back toward the others. Behind them, a horde of infected workers lurched forward, their movements erratic, grotesque moans filling the air.

”Muchen, run!” Hana shouted, her voice strained as she vaulted over a fallen package cart.

Muchen had barely adjusted his grip on his makeshift bat when Lu Zhi, in his blind panic, collided straight into him.

”Oof— What the hell, Lu Zhi!” Muchen staggered back, barely staying on his feet.

”They’re coming!” Lu Zhi scrambled up, panting. ”Big ones! Small ones! And one that looks like my history teacher!”

The taller boy gripping the fire extinguisher tensed, his fingers twitching around the handle.

Then the first zombie burst through the aisle.

A former Amazon worker—his blue uniform stained with dark patches of blood—his jaw unhinged, gaping like a snake as he lunged forward.

Muchen reacted on instinct.

He swung his bat, smashing the zombie’s skull in a single powerful blow. The body crumpled, twitching, before going still.

Hana didn’t have time to admire his strength. She turned to the sobbing girl still curled up near the wall.

”Get up! We need to move!”

The girl shook her head violently, tears spilling. ”I... I can’t... I—”

”Do you want to turn into one of them?!” Hana snapped, her patience gone.

The girl’s breath hitched, but before she could answer—

A new growl cut through the air.

Hana barely had time to register the movement before a blur of grey flesh slammed into Muchen, sending him flying.

”Muchen!” Shao’s voice rang out from across the warehouse, but it was too late.

Muchen skidded across the concrete floor, pain flaring through his shoulder. He looked up—his vision blurry—only to freeze.

The thing standing over him wasn’t like the others.

It was bigger—almost unnaturally tall, its spine twisted at a grotesque angle, its arms elongated like they had been stretched beyond human limits.

Its jaw was missing, but that didn’t stop it from emitting a deep, guttural clicking noise.

Muchen’s blood ran cold.

This wasn’t a normal zombie.

It was an evolved one.

The creature lunged.

Muchen barely had time to roll aside before clawed fingers slammed into the ground where he had been.

The concrete cracked.

”RUN!” Shao roared, sprinting forward with Qiu Yue close behind.

”Shit, shit, shit—” Lu Zhi grabbed Hana’s hand and dragged her toward the higher shelves.

The taller boy swung his fire extinguisher, slamming it into the mutant’s back, but it barely reacted.

Muchen forced himself up, his chest heaving.

He needed to get up. He needed to fight.

But his arms were shaking.

The sobbing girl, whimpered, ”W-What is that?”

Hearing her cry the mutated zombie lunged at her

”Look out!” shao dragged her out of its way.

But it was too late for him

Shao barely had time to react.

The mutated zombie lunged, its grotesquely long arms whipping toward his throat.

In that split second—before the undead could sink its teeth into him—

A blur of gold streaked through the air.

Shao felt himself yanked upward, weightless, the world below becoming a mess of twisting shadows and thrashing bodies.

When he landed, it was soft—like floating down from a dream.

He blinked. He was sitting on top of a tall metal shelf, completely out of reach of the zombies below.

”What the hell—?” His voice was hoarse, his heart hammering against his ribs.

He turned his head and saw Muchen.

Or at least, someone that looked like Muchen.

The boy hovered just inches above the shelf, his body still glowing faintly with golden light. His usually dark eyes were now shining like molten gold, his hair lifting slightly as if caught in an unseen breeze.

The air around him crackled.

Muchen’s chest heaved, eyes wide with confusion. He stared down at his hands, flexing his fingers, as if expecting them to turn back to normal.

But they didn’t.

”What... was that?” Shao breathed, gripping the shelf’s edge.

Muchen swallowed hard.

”I don’t know.”

”You flew.”

”I noticed.”

”You grabbed me, and you flew.”

”Yeah, I got that part.”

Shao stared at him.

Muchen, his normal, goofy, not-so-athletic best friend—had just picked him up and flown.

Like a goddamn superhero.

”Dude... are you a fucking X-Men?” Shao whispered.

Muchen still looked shell-shocked. ”If I was, I’d be the worst one—because I have no idea how I did that!”

Below them, the zombies snarled, thrashing against the shelves, reaching up with bloodstained hands.

The mutant let out a piercing shriek, its twisted body spasming violently before it launched itself at the shelves.

Muchen and Shao both flinched as the metal structure shook violently.

”Well, whatever it is, figure it out fast!” Shao hissed.

Muchen took a deep breath.

The golden light flickered around his fingers, like a flame struggling to stay lit.

”I... I think I can do it again,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Muchen took a shaky breath. His body still hummed with that strange golden energy, and he could feel the weightlessness still clinging to him.

”Okay... okay, I got this,” he muttered, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

The golden glow flared up immediately, lifting him smoothly into the air and landed stumbling on the ground.

”Whoa.” Zhi’s eyes widened. ”You actually look sooooo cool.”

Muchen smirked. ”Don’t sound too impressed. You’re next.”

With surprising ease, he wrapped an arm around zhi’s waist and swooped down, carrying him toward another high shelf where Qiu Yue and the others were huddled.

When he landed and set Shao down, everyone gawked at him like he’d just sprouted three heads.

Lu Zhi’s mouth was hanging open.

Qiu Yue adjusted his glasses. ”Well, that’s... new.”

Muchen cracked his knuckles. ”Alright, next up—Hana.”

Hana, a known fan of Muchen the celebrity, had been completely frozen in place this whole time.

As Muchen hovered in front of her, she just gawked at him like he was a literal deity.

”You... you can fly?” she whispered.

”Apparently.”

Her lips parted in shock. ”Are you—are you actually an angel?”

Muchen stared at her. ”Hana, we’ve been through hell together. If I was an angel, don’t you think I’d be doing a way better job?”

Hana, still starstruck, grabbed his arm.

”Can you carry me like a princess?” she asked dreamily.

Muchen groaned. ”Hana, this is not the time—”

But she had already jumped into his arms.

Muchen staggered slightly under the weight, barely keeping himself in the air.

Shao snickered. ”Dude, she’s gonna bring you down.”

”Shut up—”

With a powerful push, Muchen lifted off again, carrying Hana up to the safety of the shelves.

One by one, he ferried everyone up—Lu Zhi, the taller boy, the remaining girl. Soon, the entire group was perched on high industrial shelves, staring down at the sea of zombies below.

The infected thrashed and growled, some trying to climb but failing.

The mutated one let out a terrible, inhuman screech, its grotesque arms flailing toward them.

Shao, catching his breath, looked around. ”Okay. We’re up here. Now what?”

Muchen, still panting, stared down at the undead below.

His golden glow flickered slightly. He flexed his hands. The power was still there, but... for how long?

Qiu Yue rubbed his temples. ”We need a real plan. We can’t just sit up here forever.”