I'm living like a cockroach in the doomsday

Zhang Xiaoqiang sat on the ground and took a half-hour break before he finally regained some energy.

He picked up the iron spear and stood up, then untied the thin hemp rope on the doorknob. When he pushed the door open, he found that the corpses of the zombies outside had blocked the door tightly.

Immediately, he used the iron spear to push the corpses aside and finally managed to step out of the door. He took a look around and saw numerous corpses lying sprawled all over the corridor. There was hardly any space to put his feet down, and the corpses of the zombies were right under his feet.

Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn't bear to look any longer, afraid that if he took one more glance, he'd throw up.

Standing on the pile of corpses, he felt a chill run down his spine. The intense stench of the corpses was so overpowering that even the scarf sprayed with cologne couldn't block it out. God only knew how many zombies were waiting downstairs for him to come to them like a lamb to the slaughter.

So, Zhang Xiaoqiang went back to the kitchen and picked up an iron pot lid to use as a shield. With it in hand, he felt a bit more confident. Although this thing couldn't stop knives or guns, as long as it could block the sharp claws of the zombies, it would do.

Since he had already killed all the zombies guarding the door, the next thing to deal with was the ones in the vegetable garden on the platform.

Zhang Xiaoqiang planned to take out the zombie that was going up and down the stairs first. It was too close to the vegetable garden. Only by getting rid of it could he have a chance to grab the cabbages as quickly as possible before the zombies from across got close and relieve his hunger.

In the next moment, he put on thick leather gloves and quickly ran to the stairs while the zombie hadn't shown up yet. Unexpectedly, the zombie was walking up the stairs and, after catching his scent, lunged at him with its teeth bared and claws outstretched!

This was the first time he'd seen a zombie up close. This zombie had a gloomy face, its eyes rolled back, and its mouth was wide open, big enough to fit a fist. All its black teeth were shaped like tiny triangular scrapers, which was really creepy to look at.

A strong stench of corpses hit him right in the face, and he felt so nauseous that he almost threw up. But by then, the zombie had already pounced on his pot lid shield, knocking him back a step. He quickly moved the shield to the left and kicked out with his right foot, hitting the zombie right in the chest. The zombie then tumbled down the stairs. Without wasting a second thought, he rushed forward and stabbed the iron spear into the zombie's body again and again. By the time he came to his senses, the zombie was already covered in bloody holes, and the black, sticky blood was splattered everywhere. The intense stench of the corpse was so bad that it felt like his head was about to split open.

But then, he forced himself to endure the physical and mental discomfort and quickly ran to the vegetable garden. He put down the iron spear, took out a fertilizer bag, and started grabbing cabbages one by one, along with the dirt, and putting them into the bag. While doing this, he kept an eye on the zombies across the way, ready to run at any moment.

Soon, the zombies heard the commotion and started walking towards him step by step.

Zhang Xiaoqiang was sweating profusely from anxiety. He was panting hard as he kept stuffing cabbages into the bag. He plunged his hands firmly into the black dirt, felt for the cabbage stalks, and then yanked the cabbages out with all his might. Even though the mud and the juice from the cabbage leaves splashed into his eyes from time to time, he didn't pay any attention. He just wanted to pick a few more. These were food, they were hope!

But at that moment, the zombies were only about ten meters away from him. He couldn't be greedy anymore. It was time to go!

So, he grabbed the bag with one hand and picked up the iron spear with the other, and then ran towards his home as fast as he could. When he saw the entrance of the corridor right in front of him, he quickened his pace even more. He stepped into the corridor and rushed towards his home.

Just as he was about to enter the door, Zhang Xiaoqiang suddenly felt something grab his ankle. In an instant, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. The cabbages in the fertilizer bag rolled out onto the ground. He didn't have time to pick them up but quickly turned around to see what was going on. When he saw it, he broke out in a cold sweat. One of the zombies that he thought he had already killed outside the door, even though it only had half of its head left, had surprisingly strong claws and was gripping his ankle tightly. Its sharp nails had instantly torn a wound on his ankle, and blood was gushing out.

"Oh no!"

A chill shot up from his tailbone all the way to his forehead. As far as he knew, any human being injured by a zombie would turn into one of them!

Zhang Xiaoqiang secretly blamed himself for underestimating the amazing vitality of these zombies. He never expected that even without half of its head, a zombie could still be this tenacious!

But right now, the most urgent thing wasn't the time to worry about that. In the next moment, he quickly turned around, kicked the zombie's claws away, then immediately got up, rushed forward, raised the iron spear, and dealt with it neatly. Once the zombie lost its entire head, it soon stopped moving.

At this time, the zombies across the way were getting closer and closer to him. Three strong ones were walking in front, and three mutated old ladies were slowly following behind. After smelling his scent, they all got excited, as if they were already certain that they would get Zhang Xiaoqiang, who was within their reach, as their prey.

Zhang Xiaoqiang was horrified. He quickly stuffed the cabbages into the bag and then rushed into his home and locked the security door tightly.

He leaned against the iron door, gasping for breath heavily. After killing several zombies in a row and having a race with death, he was completely exhausted. He hadn't eaten anything for a day and a night, and the little bit of strength he had left was all used up during this trip out. What's more, his ankle was scratched by the sharp nails of the zombies. Fortunately, there was always a way out. At least his efforts had paid off a little. He took out the cabbages from the bag and neatly laid them on the floor. There were eleven cabbages in total, weighing at least twenty pounds.

But just when he was thinking about how to eat these cabbages, he suddenly fell to the ground and started convulsing all over. His heart felt like it was being hit by a sledgehammer again and again. He opened his mouth, trying to shout loudly, but no sound came out. Only a low, hoarse sound came from his throat. It felt like a red-hot iron ball had been thrown into his internal organs, rolling around inside his body continuously, as if all his internal organs were on fire.

His head became heavier and heavier, and his vision grew blurrier and blurrier. Worst of all, he felt his body temperature rising constantly. In just a short while, his whole body became burning hot, which made him even more uneasy. He had endured hunger before. The longest time he had gone without eating was over sixty hours. But this feeling now was clearly not caused by hunger. Could it be that he was really going to mutate and become one of those walking corpses outside?

At this moment, an indescribable pain swept over his whole body. That burning sensation seemed to spread from the inside out, making the skin on his hands turn bright red. The pain was so intense that he wished he could just die.

Zhang Xiaoqiang had never suffered such pain before. For the first time, he thought that death might be the only way to end this agony.

"So this is how painful it is to turn into a zombie..."

"It takes three days for a zombie mutation. Haven't I reached that time yet? Time is passing so slowly!"

"Just turn into a zombie quickly..."

He lay on the ground, banging his head against the floor again and again. Blood flowed into his eyes, and he couldn't see clearly. Everything in his vision was red.

Zombies, food, survival...

None of it mattered anymore.

He just wanted to end this excruciating pain, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. He just instinctively banged his head against the ground, hoping to knock himself out.

As his body temperature reached and even exceeded the limit that a human could bear, his will gradually faded. It felt like the hand that had been tightly grasping onto life was losing its strength. Reuniting with his sister had become his biggest wish. In his last bit of consciousness, he simply regretted that he hadn't had a chance to eat these cabbages and was still going to die hungry.

...

When Zhang Xiaoqiang opened his eyes again, what he saw wasn't heaven or hell. Everything around him was the same as before. He was still in his own home.

"Have I turned into a zombie?"

When he finally came to his senses after that horrible pain, he quickly looked at his fingers. His nails were neatly trimmed. He then touched his teeth. "They're flat... So I didn't turn into a zombie!"

Zhang Xiaoqiang struggled to stand up and walked to the bedroom. The figure in the full-length mirror looked rather haggard. His hair, which hadn't been washed for a long time, was a bit tangled. His face was covered in blood and dirt. His eyes were a bit small, and his black-brown pupils were clearly visible.

This face in the mirror looked rather ordinary and didn't have any beauty to speak of, but he was extremely excited. He could be sure that his body hadn't changed at all. He hadn't mutated into a zombie!

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. He just felt that the hunger in his stomach was much stronger than before he passed out. But his body wasn't as weak as before, and even his mental state was quite good compared to before.

After thinking for a while, he still couldn't figure out why his body had changed like this. But for the current situation, this change was really helpful to him. At least it proved that he didn't show any signs of mutation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but look at the eleven Chinese cabbages neatly placed on the floor, his eyes full of eagerness.

Then, he couldn't wait to pick out two cabbages, turned on the induction cooker, and prepared to boil them in water.

The tap water couldn't be drunk. God only knew if there were zombies soaking in the water tanks at the water treatment plant. Fortunately, he lived alone at home and was too lazy to boil water, so he liked to order takeout and have barrels of water delivered. And at this moment, there was still half a barrel of water left at home.

Soon, the two Chinese cabbages were cooked in the boiling hot water. The green and white cabbage leaves were so tempting that they constantly made Zhang Xiaoqiang want to eat them. His saliva was flowing quickly, and it seemed that he couldn't even smell the stench of the corpses in the air anymore. He couldn't wait to fish out the cabbage leaves. He didn't gobble them up but put them into his mouth bit by bit, slowly savoring them with the tip of his tongue. Before he knew it, the last cabbage leaf disappeared into his mouth. Because of saving water, there was still a lot of dirt in his mouth...

He waited and waited. When the hot water in the pot gradually cooled down, he rinsed his mouth with it and swallowed the water along with the dirt in his mouth to make sure he wouldn't die of dehydration. Then he carefully sealed the remaining water to prevent it from evaporating too quickly. After all, in this apocalypse with scarce resources, even a single drop of water could save his life.

After doing all this, Zhang Xiaoqiang finally let go of everything and sat on the ground, realizing how precious life was.

Outside the door, several zombies that had been attracted by him again were scratching at the security door non-stop.

Inside the door, Zhang Xiaoqiang, sitting on the ground, had confidence in surviving for the first time...