XG 12 - shot to death to contain the disease

 

The sudden move of Suzie Yap turning her back to them and lifting the hem of her dress had sent Vihaan into a coughing fit, which sounded more like being choked and he quickly turned his head away. Wong Xue Guo swiftly used her body to block her mother from view. Vihaan also moved Kim Sung-Ho to look away as well, but the young boy clearly showed more interest in looking at his wristwatch than a beautiful woman.

 

There was a period when Suzie Yap would have a seamstress pay a house call for custom-made clothing. The small pouch attached to a garter belt that was currently rummaged by her mother was one of the custom-made items. She pulled out her red mobile phone and tapped away, which Wong Xue Guo guessed to be sending a message.

 

Not long after, Wong Xue Guo felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 

Lin Ya: Yibo says someone will be coming to get us out. Don't come!

 

Wong Xue Guo was speechless. I'm with my mother. How can I not go, ah? ( ˙▿˙ )

 

She replied with only a smiley emoticon, not feeling like explaining. Low Lin Ya would understand later anyway.

 

Sighing, she did not bother the adults that were discussing in detail what they were going to do and turned to the young boy who was sitting silently. “I don’t remember your name.”

 

Kim Sung-Ho raised his head to stare at the elder sister with glasses and mask on when she came over to sit on a chair beside him before swiftly lowering his gaze again. When he did not reply quickly enough, Wong Xue Guo was reminded of something.

 

“Do you speak English?”

 

Kim Sung-Ho slowly nodded. “My name is Kim Sung-Ho.”

 

If not because they were in a quiet room, except for the adults bickering about the path they will be taking to reach the staircase, Wong Xue Guo would have missed his soft words. She had not seen the young boy properly since she entered the room and decided to take this chance as he had not lifted his gaze.

 

His soft black hair was cut into a mushroom-like hairstyle, and his bangs were used well to hide most of his eyes. He looked like a shy mushroom where most adults would want to pat his fluffy head lovingly.

 

“My name is Wong Xue Guo. Let’s do some warm-up so that our body won't suffer later.”

 

Perhaps Kim Sung-Ho had not expected her words that came after the self-introduction, because he raised his head and revealed his bewildered round eyes. Without waiting for a reply, she had already stood up, beckoning him to follow her movement.

 

Wong Xue Guo only knew the school’s warm-up exercise set and followed it even if she doubted it would really loosen up her muscles to avoid hurting herself before doing intense movements later. Kim Sung-Ho stared at her for a moment before joining her, mimicking her movement as best as he could.

 

In fear of creating noise that would attract danger, she just did some stretching poses. The two weak chickens need to make sure they will not bring down the entire team later with stupid mistakes. As doing warm-ups does not require much need for sight, their eyes would unconsciously stray to Vihaan and Suzie Yap, where they were trying to come to an agreement.

 

“I agree it will take a longer time to reach the sports store if we use that path, but it will be safer that way,” Vihaan spoke seriously.

 

They were currently in the west direction, and the staircase to the rooftop was located in the middle of the floor, in the south direction. As for the sports store, it was in the east direction, where they will need to pass by the center. It was also where the elevator was, with a large group of aggressive zombies circling around that spot.

 

The Diamond shopping mall was designed to look like an umbrella from outside the building, even if most had secretly called it a mushroom. Thanks to the design, the top floor had the most space with the most shops. Thus, it usually held the most customers in the whole building.

 

Vihaan wanted to circle around to reach the sports center, using the longer but safer path, but Suzie Yap refused the idea.

 

“It will be quicker to deal with the problem first instead of playing hide and seek with them. If we stay here for too long, we won’t get the chance to leave anymore.”

 

Won’t get the chance to leave anymore?

 

Vihaan had only thought Suzie Yap was a martial arts practitioner and was calm-headed when facing those monsters. But her words seemed to reveal that she knew something about the disease or she was actually someone that was involved with the internal workings of the government.

 

The police station should have received numerous distress calls for help, and enough time had passed for the police to move for a rescue attempt. It was also likely they had already surrounded the exits of the shopping mall, but it was unknown what they would do when facing survivors that managed to get out of the mall. 

 

Will they be shot to death to contain the disease? Suzie Yap’s words gave Vihaan a strong chill at the conclusion he came up with.

 

Vihaan was right that Suzie Yap was not afraid of these low-level zombies at all, full of confidence in her own strength even against a large number of zombies. The only thing she might be afraid of was being locked inside the shopping mall, with the army planning to cleanse the place in an extreme manner that includes killing off the survivors as well.

 

“Don’t waste time thinking anymore.” Suzie Yap walked to Wong Xue Guo with a gentle smile. “Guo Guo, are you done with your warm-up?"

 

Wong Xue Guo straightened her pose and grabbed her sling bag. "Yes."

 

"Then let’s go.” Suzie Yap glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “If Mr Vihaan does not agree with my plan, feel free to use that path with your young partner.”

 

Vihaan slowly released his breath. “Alright, we will follow your plan.”

 

It was more disadvantageous without Suzie Yap’s help and they were going the same way anyway. As the strongest in the team, Suzie Yap would take the lead, with Wong Xue Guo second and Kim Sung-Ho third. Vihaan would be the last, protecting their backs.

 

Originally, Wong Xue Guo wanted to use the stun gun but was told not to by her mother. Without any other better option, she could only continue using her broomstick. Gripping the broken broom tightly, Wong Xue Guo gets herself ready to practice stabbing and has already visualized many ways of doing so.

 

However, she does not have the chance to practice when her mother easily deals with the zombies coming toward them, like a pro butcher chopping chickens for daily business. Wong Xue Guo and Kim Sung-Ho were protected by Suzie Yap and Vihaan, who surprisingly was stronger than he looked under his slim-looking suit and intellectual glasses.

 

Without much trouble, they managed to make their way to the center of the floor and saw the situation in the elevator with their own eyes. They hid in a corner as they peeked at the mindless zombies attracted by the arriving elevator with a sharp sound of ding. They were already pressing onto the elevator door before it even opened, and when it did, they rushed into the elevator box that was already half occupied by zombies from the lower floor.

 

They looked like a hill of ants with how they climbed over each other to get into the metal box. Even so, they did not bite their own ‘kind’. It was fortunate that these zombies were stupid ones because the human survival rate will be higher.

 

The zombies inside the metal box were squirming around, searching for fresh meat and their movement had lit up every button inside the elevator. It was no wonder the door would start closing, only to be stopped by the bodies of the zombies that were still struggling to get into the metal box. As the elevator full of zombies broke past the weight limit, it let out beeping sounds in warning, but it only served as a tool to get even more zombies to come over.

 

Wong Xue Guo wondered how long this chaotic scene would continue. Will the elevator break down first or will the zombies’ bodies finally be unable to withstand the abuse and have their limbs chopped by the metal door?

 

She eyed her mother at her side, who was seriously eying the zombies. Suzie Yap smiled at her when she caught her daughter staring. “Just wait for a little bit more.”

 

Wait for what? (・・ ) ?