Chapter 9: The Great Cataclysm

The four of them returned to their room. Sakura handed Wang Zhi a pistol, and as he held a real firearm for the first time, excitement surged through him.

The cold metal in his hands sent a shiver down his spine. The gun had a black rose insignia etched onto it, and it carried a faint, lingering fragrance.

“This gun was custom-made for me by a renowned German gunsmith. After it was completed, you’re the second person to touch it. You better cherish it. And remember to return it once you get your own.”

As Sakura spoke, her hands started wandering over Wang Zhi’s body, sending chills down his spine.

“Wow! This is amazing! Sakura, can you teach me how to use it?” Wang Zhi asked as he examined the pistol with fascination.

“Don’t rush. Your sister is a little tired. Give me a leg massage first, and then I’ll teach you,” Sakura said, pretending to be exhausted as she lay on the bed.

“Damn, Captain, you’re really living the dream—having both a beauty and a gun! I’m kind of jealous,” Fatty drooled as he watched.

“Dream? Then why don’t you give her a massage instead?” Wang Zhi shot Fatty a glance.

Fatty looked at the lounging Sakura and then recalled the time she almost crippled him. He immediately shook his head like a rattling drum.

“Go on, didn’t you say it’s great?” Wang Zhi continued to tease him.

“Nah, nah. I’ll stick with Brother He. If I try, Sakura might just put a bullet in my head,” Fatty quickly retreated to Lao He’s side.

After Fatty left, Wang Zhi approached Sakura.

“Sakura, should I start?” he asked.

“Mm,” she replied with her eyes closed.

This was Wang Zhi’s first time being this close to Sakura. Through the sheer black stockings, he could see numerous scars of various sizes on her legs. It was hard to imagine how much pain she had endured.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up,” Sakura nudged him lightly with her foot.

“Oh, right!” Wang Zhi snapped out of it and continued massaging her legs.

Once he was done, Sakura began teaching him.

She explained how to properly hold a pistol, how to disassemble and reload it, aiming techniques, and trigger control.

Sakura shared her personal insights, and Wang Zhi listened intently.

“That’s about it for handguns. You’ll need real combat experience to master it. There’s a shooting range here—go practice. And don’t waste bullets; I didn’t bring that many.”

Sakura handed the pistol back to Wang Zhi.

“Fatty, how’s your training?” Wang Zhi asked after walking over.

“All good! Brother He’s explanations were both professional and easy to understand,” Fatty said enthusiastically.

“Alright, let’s hit the shooting range and get some practice in.”

“Sounds good, Captain!”

“For now, let’s rest for six hours. We’ll train afterward,” Wang Zhi said before turning off the room’s lights.

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September 17, 2025 – Heavy Fog

Wang Zhi didn’t know how long he’d been asleep when a nightmare startled him awake. In his dream, a bloodied figure—no, a zombie—lunged at him and bit into his neck.

In the darkness, he fumbled for his phone and checked the time. It was 10 AM on the 17th.

Time had lost all meaning to him now. If the lights were off, it felt like night; if they were on, it felt like day.

With no signal, his phone was only useful for tracking dates and taking notes.

After lying in bed for a while, he turned on the room’s lights.

“Get up, everyone. It’s training time,” Wang Zhi called out.

Once everyone was up, the four of them headed to the training hall again.

Wang Zhi and Fatty planned to train at the shooting range, while Sakura and Lao He did their own thing. Wang Zhi wasn’t qualified to instruct them anyway.

At the range, Wang Zhi loaded the pistol Sakura gave him. It used the common 9mm rounds, with a magazine capacity of nine bullets.

His goal: to empty the 100 rounds she had given him.

Click. He pulled back the slide to check if a round was chambered, then disengaged the safety.

Bang!

Wang Zhi fired his first-ever live round.

The powerful recoil sent a jolt through his hands, making his palm ache.

The bullet missed. His first shot was a complete miss.

Even so, Wang Zhi’s excitement only grew. This was the kind of weapon a man should wield! One shot, and he was hooked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a few more rounds, he managed to land a couple of hits—mostly on the dummy’s torso and arms.

He reloaded the magazine, carefully inserting each round one by one.

“Fatty, how’s my shooting?” Wang Zhi turned to ask. But before he could finish, he noticed that Fatty’s target dummy had multiple bullet holes in the head and chest. His face flushed with embarrassment.

“Fatty, you’re pretty good! Have you practiced before?” Wang Zhi asked.

“Yeah, I’ve loved guns since I was a kid. I bought a lot of replica guns to play with. The feel isn’t that different.”

As Fatty spoke, he effortlessly fired a few more rounds. It was as if recoil didn’t exist for him.

After firing 100 rounds, Wang Zhi became more proficient. While he wasn’t hitting 100% of his shots within 30 meters, he could reliably land 8 out of 10.

But then he realized a problem—against zombies, only headshots were effective.

Looking at the targets, he saw that out of ten shots, only one had hit the head. And that was on a stationary target. Zombies moved.

This was going to be much harder than he thought.

He needed more practice. But Sakura’s supply of bullets was limited, which meant he’d have to purchase more from a weapons shop.

He remembered seeing 9mm rounds in a store before—100 rounds for 5 survival points. Not too expensive.

Once both of them ran out of ammo, they regrouped with Lao He and Sakura to report their progress. Their advice was simple: “Train more.”

Under Lao He’s guidance, Wang Zhi and Fatty focused on physical conditioning. They started with running, then weight training.

Meanwhile, Lao He and Sakura trained for explosive power.

This routine continued for four hours until Wang Zhi and Fatty collapsed from exhaustion.

Fatty had nearly quit after just an hour, saying he’d rather work in the logistics area. But the sight of Sakura twirling a dagger around them kept him in line.

“Ugh… Sakura, was your captain this harsh on you when you trained?” Wang Zhi panted.

“More or less,” she giggled. “But I was the captain.”

What?!

Wang Zhi stared at her in disbelief.

“What’s wrong? You don’t believe me?” Sakura raised an eyebrow and ruffled his hair.

“No, I believe you. You’re beautiful and gentle. I just never imagined it.”

“Ahaha, I think so too.” She smiled.

“Hmph. Beautiful and gentle? Do you know how many people her organization has killed? Over a hundred, at least. She’s a globally wanted criminal,” Lao He scoffed.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Sakura pouted. “We were just doing business. Also, we rarely took jobs in China. Who doesn’t know this place is a no-go zone for mercenaries?”

“There’s a thing called the law!” Lao He snapped.

“And I never broke it,” she shot back.

Wang Zhi sighed. “Enough. That’s all in the past. We’re a team now. Let’s focus on surviving together, alright?”

His words calmed Lao He down. Sakura just blinked at him with an innocent look, as if she were about to cry.

Damn, why wasn’t she in Hollywood instead? Wang Zhi thought.

And so, a week passed in this monotonous cycle of eating, training, and resting.

But the world outside had already changed.

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September 26, 2025 – The World Has Fallen

Zombies had appeared.