Apocalypse : Transmigrated With Milf System-Chapter 10: Zombie Horde

The lower floors clung to the last vestiges of daylight filtering through grimy windows, casting long, distorted shadows.

The air hung heavy, thick with the musty scent of decay and a stale, undisturbed dust that coated every surface.

Ruel moved with a practiced silence, his senses stretched taut, a primal alertness honed by the constant threat of this ravaged world.

Each footfall was deliberate, each glance a swift assessment of his surroundings.

Then, the silence shattered.

A wet, thudding impact resonated from the ground floor, followed by another, and another, each sickeningly regular.

"The fuck...?" Ruel muttered under his breath, his brow furrowing. This wasn't the aimless shuffle, the mindless moaning of the usual infected.

This was purposeful, violent. A flicker of dark curiosity ignited in his eyes.

Rounding the final bend of the stairwell, the ground floor hallway stretched before him, bathed in the weak, filtered light of the late afternoon.

And there they were.

"Raaawhh!" A cluster of at least four, maybe five, of the infected were pressed against the heavy metal door of the building's main entrance.

Their decaying hands scrabbled and clawed at the steel, but it was their heads – their grotesque, misshapen skulls – that they were rhythmically slamming against the reinforced barrier.

"Grrrrrh..." Each impact sent a shudder through the door, a groaning protest that echoed in the sudden stillness of Ruel's descent.

Just then, a voice, laced with a nervous tremor, drifted down from the upper floors.

"Hey! What in the hell is going on down there? That... that doesn't sound good at all!" It was Skinny, his voice thin and reedy, tinged with rising panic.

Ruel didn't look up, his eyes widening slightly, a strange fascination warring with a hint of impatience.

Another sickening thud, closer and louder, vibrating through the floor beneath his feet.

"Zombies," Ruel called back, his voice tight with a hint of morbid curiosity. "They're... they're hitting the door. Like... headbutting it." He couldn't quite suppress a dark smile, a flicker of anticipation in his gaze.

Then, Nina's sharper tone cut through the fear in Skinny's voice, laced with a hint of something Ruel couldn't quite decipher

– perhaps annoyance at his apparent interest.

"Hitting it? Yeah, some of the dumb ones do that when they're really fixated on something. Haven't you seen it before, tough guy?"

Her eyes, peering down from the landing above, held a skeptical edge.

Ruel hesitated, a lie forming quickly on his lips. He couldn't reveal his ignorance, his otherworldliness.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant, but the tremor in his voice betrayed a hint of excitement. "Just... wasn't expecting them to be so... dedicated."

Boss Chen's voice, usually so measured and commanding, now held a note of deep concern, but also a hint of his usual impatience.

"How many, Ruel? Give us a damn number." His burly figure leaned over the railing, his eyes narrowed in the dim light.

Ruel shifted his stance, trying to project more control than he felt.

"At least forty or fifty that I can see pressed against the door. And the way they're going at it... more could be drawn in by the noise."

He looked back at the shuddering metal, another wet thump resonating through the building, the sound now laced with a new layer of anticipation for him.

"We need to reinforce this. Now. Before they break through and we can have some real fun."

A chilling premonition washed over Nina. "This could be it... the start of a real horde."

[Ding! Survive the Zombie Horde and Get Reward of : Heaven Devourer Skill Card, Grandmaster Spearman Skill Card, Epic RV Warship]

[Ding! Host do you receive the Task?]

[Yes / No]

A feral grin spread across Ruel's face, a dangerous excitement igniting in his eyes.

"Receive it, you damn system! Time for these muscle-headed freaks to learn who runs this show." He cracked his knuckles, a predatory gleam in his gaze.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Ruel barked, his earlier confusion replaced by a sudden surge of adrenaline and a strange, almost eager anticipation.

He vaulted over the remaining steps, landing lightly on the ground floor. "Stack anything you can find against that door! Now!"

He scanned the cluttered hallway, his eyes already assessing potential barricades.

"Big Ben, Skinny, with me! Let's move some heavy shit! Nina, check for any other ground-level entrances or weak spots!"

His voice was sharp, commanding, surprisingly authoritative.

Boss Chen, his earlier irritation replaced by a focused efficiency born of years of survival, was the first to move.

"Alright, let's not stand around gawking! Big Ben, you hear the man! Move that damn cabinet! Skinny, grab anything solid you can find!"

His gaze flicked towards the stairwell, a gruff order echoing upwards. "Nina, get your ass down here and check those windows! Move it!"

Just then, a flurry of movement and a startled gasp echoed from the stairwell leading down.

Mei Feng appeared, her eyes wide with alarm, her clothes hastily draped around her damp form, water still beading in her dark, wet hair.

She clutched a piece of cloth to her chest, her bare feet silent on the grimy floor.

"What's happening?!" she asked, her voice breathy and laced with panic,

her eyes darting frantically between Ruel, who seemed strangely energized, and the others scrambling to move furniture.

"I heard all the banging... it sounded... awful!" Her gaze fixated on the main door.

Her eyes widening further as she registered the sickening thuds and the sight of the others frantically pushing heavy objects.

Big Ben, mid-heave with a heavy, overturned desk, grunted, his face strained with exertion.

"Zombies at the door, sweetheart. Looks like they're having a bit of a skull-banging party." He shot a worried glance at the shuddering metal.

Skinny, surprisingly agile despite his name, darted around like a frantic rat, his eyes scanning for anything that could be used as a barricade.

He paused, noticing Mei Feng's disheveled state, his eyes widening slightly.

"Uh, Mei Feng, you might want to... you know... maybe get something more on?" A flicker of awkwardness crossed his face, his gaze darting away quickly.

Nina, her earlier alert eyes sharpened into a grimly determined command, glanced at Mei Feng, then back at the immediate threat.

"Never a dull moment in this hellhole. Find something to help, Mei Feng, unless you want those things breaking in for a closer look."

She gestured towards a stack of what looked like discarded filing cabinets. "Those next. They're heavy enough."

Mei Feng, her initial shock quickly replaced by a sense of urgency, didn't hesitate.

She looked around frantically, her eyes landing on a stack of sturdy-looking desks. "Can we use these? To block the door first? They look strong!"

As Big Ben and Boss Chen strained, their muscles bulging, to shove the first heavy desk towards the door,

its metal legs scraping against the grimy floor with a screeching sound,

Skinny wrestled with a heavy, broken office chair, dragging it awkwardly towards the entrance.

"Think that'll even slow 'em down?" Skinny asked, his brow furrowed with doubt as he positioned the chair haphazardly,

glancing nervously at the still-damp Mei Feng who was now frantically trying to flatten a stack of sturdy-looking cardboard boxes.

Boss Chen, his face reddening with exertion, grunted, his breath coming in short bursts.

"It's not about holding forever, you idiot! It's about buying us some damn time! Those filing cabinets are the real prize. Get 'em over here!"