XG 9 - You can, but please think of us mere mortals

"I will clear the path to the staircase first. You and that boy can leave after that," Suzie Yap said.

"Are you sure you don't want to follow us?" Vihaan asked.

"I still need to pick up someone from that shop and our final destination isn't the same. The owner of the helicopter will not waste time sending us back to our house. I have the strength to choose my path of escape."

Wong Xue Guo could guess that too. The helicopter would be going wherever the owner wanted, and the passengers that asked for a free ride will have to go along with it. The mother and daughter had already made an appointment with Charles Wong to meet up at Penang Island.

"It won’t take much time if you are just picking up someone. We can go along with you," Vihaan volunteered. Either way, the shop was near the staircase and they still needed to deal with the zombies.

He would also feel better if he could help her out instead of treating this team-up one-sidedly.

"How about… we distract them?" Wong Xue Guo suggested. "Putting loud music in the opposite direction?"

The elevator scene had told them that the zombies were attracted to sound and no longer have the ability to think more than the surface.

"The speakers are all connected and can't be chosen on which hub to stop the broadcasting," Vihaan dropped the bad news. "Only different floors have separated radio."

"Don't worry, baby," Suzie Yap reassured. "Mommy can deal with them all."

Wong Xue Guo: You can, but please think of us mere mortals.

Suzie Yap did not let them continue thinking up some other plans and have them ready to set out. Vihaan managed to find a metal bar used by the shops to pull up or down the metal shutter gate. Kim Sung-ho was given a black baton they found hidden inside a drawer. There were also stun guns to be found, which Wong Xue Guo kept in her sling bag. They could test on how it works on zombies, but she wondered just how the security guards were allowed to have those stun guns.

Had she misunderstood that only the police force could have those legally?

The sudden move of Suzie Yap turning her back to them and lifting the hem of her dress had Vihaan cough, which sounded more like a choke 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 no interest in looking at a beautiful woman.

There was a period where Suzie Yap would have a seamstress pay a house call for custom-made clothing. The small pouch attached to a garter belt 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.

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

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

She replied with only a smiley emote, not feeling like explaining. Low Lin Ya will 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.”

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 movement 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 could not do loud movements such as star jumps, so 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, they unconsciously watched Vihaan and Suzie Yap 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 direction of west, 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 at, 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 a 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 of 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 will 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 towards 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 intellectual-looking suit and 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 at 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 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 will this chaotic scene continue. Will the elevator breaks down first or will the zombies’ bodies finally be unable to withstand the abuse and have their limbs rip apart like barbie dolls?

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? (・・ ) ?

It took a long time for the door to finally win and successfully usher most of the zombies out and closed the door on their faces, ignoring their howls and banging. Not even the buttons worked to get the door open. The LED screen showed the floor started to descend to the floor below, but the shopping mall has thick walls and they did not hear anything after the elevator door closed.

"Guo Guo, do you want to wait for mummy here?"

"No." Wong Xue Guo supported her answer by shaking her head. It was stupid to separate now. What if her mother manages to enter the sports store, leaving her outside alone?

She would also rather fight along with her mother than letting herself continue being helpless. The main characters of the zombie apocalypse always counted on themselves instead of being a cry-baby that needed strong people to help them.

Suzie Yap looked a little disheartened at her choice but respected her daughter. "Then follow me closely, okay?"

"Okay."

“Now!” Suzie Yap stepped out and rushed to the group of zombies.

Hearing her, the zombies unitedly turned their heads in their direction before charging over with growls. Fearless of the danger, Suzie Yap started hacking zombies like a terminator on her mission to kill.