After the group finished eating, they simply threw away the plastic food containers. Yes, they were now eating all their meals with disposable plastic boxes and chopsticks—this saved water and also freed up their hands from cleanup.
However, they couldn't neglect the pots used for cooking, so someone still had to wash the cookware.
Afterward, they all gathered around to inspect the weapons Xie Lingfeng had found earlier. There were two large machetes—probably used by the gardeners before to trim trees around the yard. They looked pretty sturdy.
The other weapon was part of Xie Father's personal collection: a sharpened katana. As expected—what man doesn't like weapons? When he was younger, Xie Father had a strong interest in them and even had a friend specially source one for him.
Who would've thought that this katana, hidden away in his study, would now be retrieved by Xie Lingfeng? After killing one of those monsters before, he had come to realize that as long as a weapon is sharp and long enough, even ordinary people stood a good chance of defeating zombies.
Still, he worried about his delicate little sister. He had tried to convince her not to take risks, insisting that he and their father could handle the dangerous and exhausting work. But Xie Lingruo flatly refused.
Although she was briefly moved by their concern, she quickly squashed that emotion. This was only her first mission world—she couldn't afford to give up now. She needed to adapt fast if she wanted to avenge the original host and complete future mission worlds.
In the end, under Xie Lingruo's firm insistence, the whole family geared up for action. Before heading out, she stored their supplies and the off-road vehicle her brother had previously purchased into her space.
This was a safety precaution—she was afraid that someone might try to break in and steal their things while they were gone. Only by storing it in the space could Xie Lingruo truly feel at ease.
Xie Father and Xie Lingfeng had no objections. After all, her approach was thoughtful and careful.
Once they stepped outside, they saw two zombies wandering just beyond the gate of their villa. Judging by their condition, they must have mutated during yesterday morning's workouts.
So the three of them made a plan: Xie Lingfeng would take the one on the left, and Xie Father and Xie Lingruo would deal with the one on the right. Everyone agreed—Xie Lingfeng was clearly their strongest combatant.
As soon as they opened the large iron gate, the two zombies turned toward the sound and began shambling forward. At this stage, zombies were only Level 0, with no crystal cores and very slow movement. As long as people could overcome their fear, killing a zombie wasn't too difficult.
Seeing the zombies' movements, all three of them gripped their weapons tightly. Xie Lingfeng wielded the katana, while Xie Lingruo and Xie Father held the large machetes.
Since Xie Lingfeng had received professional training, the katana was no problem for him—it was more like an extension of his body. But giving that weapon to Xie Father or Lingruo might've resulted in accidental injuries.
Up close, Xie Lingruo realized the most unbearable thing about zombies was their overwhelming, rotting stench.
The smell was so bad she almost vomited up the meal she had just eaten. But she forced it down—food was precious, and she couldn't afford to waste it.
Determined to push herself, Xie Lingruo sprang into action as soon as Xie Lingfeng made his move. She slashed at the zombie's legs first, because the male zombie was over 1.8 meters tall—much taller than her.
Without the confidence to land a fatal blow to the head, she chose to cripple its movement first, making it easier for them to finish it off.
Sure enough, after she impaired its movement, Xie Father rushed in with his machete and lopped off the zombie's head.
In the end, the three of them successfully killed both zombies. They decided to rest in place for a few minutes—not because Xie Lingfeng was tired (he wasn't), but because he wanted to be considerate of his family.
Before they rested, Xie Lingfeng also relocked the iron gate to prevent any other people or zombies from sneaking in.
After a short break, the trio continued hunting zombies. But since this was a suburban villa district, there weren't too many zombies around.
They spent four hours clearing out the general area, although they didn't check tight corners or inside other people's homes. They also didn't deal with zombies that might still be inside other villas.
Still, by now, Xie Lingruo and Xie Father were capable of killing zombies on their own. As expected, actual combat was the fastest way to improve.