TFRLTOP Chapter 72 Part 2

The stench hit her instantly.

Inside were only a few eggs and some vegetables—the eggs were rotten, the greens wilted and slimy.

So the power outage had lasted quite a while already.

Good thing there wasn’t any meat inside, or she didn’t even want to imagine the horror.

She turned on the tap.

No water.

Her bad feeling deepened.

“Maybe whoever lived here just didn’t pay the bills for ages,” she reasoned aloud. “Got their water and power cut.”

Time to ask the neighbors.

She stepped into the corridor. It was silent and dusty—clearly an old, poorly maintained apartment building. No sign of cleaning or management in years.

Her phone still had no signal.

Across the hall was an old-fashioned double-layered door: a wooden inner one and a metal security gate on the outside.

The inner door was ajar. Ming Ming walked over and knocked. “Hello? Anyone home?”

“I live across the hall. My place lost power and water—did yours too?”

Her voice echoed through the empty corridor.

No response.

No one home?

She turned to head back inside to grab a few things and look for somewhere to charge her phone.

Then—

Clack.

A faint sound came from upstairs.

Ming Ming tilted her head, peering up. Nothing. She climbed a few steps. Still nothing.

She turned back toward her door—then froze.

Something about the neighbor’s door looked off.

She glanced at it casually—

And nearly screamed.

A decaying face was pressed right up against the security gate.

The bulging eyes stared straight at Ming Ming, teeth bared halfway in a ghastly grin. When it realized she’d seen it, its mouth began making a hoarse, rasping “heh-heh” sound — like a chilling, corpse-like laugh.

Ming Ming stumbled back a step, her legs going weak, nearly screaming out loud.

Footsteps echoed behind her. She froze, spine stiff, and slowly turned toward the staircase.

Someone was standing there.

If you could still call it someone…

Its body stood in a twisted, unnatural pose. Its skin was dark and rotting, part of its intestines hanging out — no way it should still be on its feet like a living human.

And yet, it was. Mouth wide open, eyes locked onto her.

The air seemed to freeze.

In the blink of an eye, Ming Ming bolted back into her apartment, slamming the door shut. At that exact moment, the “person” on the stairs lunged at high speed, slamming into the door with a guttural roar.

The one across the hall was doing the same — hammering against its own metal gate.

Ming Ming braced herself against the door and finally couldn’t hold it in anymore — she screamed.

“AAAAHHHH— What the hell, System?! What’s going on?! There are freaking zombies out there!!”

“Don’t scream! You’ll draw more of them!” the system shouted urgently.

Ming Ming couldn’t stop herself. “What do you mean, this is an apocalypse world?!”

She locked the door, trying to drag the desk over to block it. But before she could, the banging got even louder.

“Get out of there!” the system yelled. “They’re gathering! It’s only a matter of time before that door breaks!”

“Where the hell am I supposed to go?!” Ming Ming cried, panic rising.

“Jump!”

“…You mean end this world already?” she asked tearfully.

“No! I mean, you’re only on the second floor! Jump and you might live!”

Ming Ming’s voice went flat. “Maybe you should just tell me the quickest way to die instead.”

The door shuddered violently. Ming Ming glanced between it and the balcony.

“Damn it—fine!”

She climbed over the railing and jumped. The door burst open the moment she hit the ground.

She landed hard, but surprisingly, she didn’t feel much pain. Looking up, she saw a zombie leaning halfway out the window she’d just escaped from.

It didn’t seem capable of jumping down.

Ming Ming scrambled to her feet, limping away as fast as she could.

“This makes sense now,” she muttered breathlessly. “Too good to be true, I thought! A modern world? Bring your antique fortune along? I thought the universe was finally treating me well—but nope, it was all a lie!”

“I just lost my husband, and now I’m dumped into a zombie apocalypse?! I’m so unloved… Does this level of suffering at least count as exceptional tragedy so I can graduate this world early?”

“…” The system sighed. “You can complain all you want, but maybe skip the drama.”

Those antique jewels and gold hairpins she’d brought from the past—she’d planned to sell them and make a fortune in the modern world.

Who could’ve guessed she’d land in the end times?

Sure, gold had value in chaotic worlds—

…but this wasn’t just chaos. It was the apocalypse.

And what mattered most in the apocalypse?

Food. Weapons.

She had neither.

Just a pile of shiny junk.

…and one green adult toy.

“F***!”

The system tried to cheer her up. “Hey, look on the bright side—you’ve got powers now!”

“Yeah, space powers! I can hide in my pocket dimension all I want, but I’ll still starve to death! Why couldn’t you drop me before the apocalypse, huh? Big fancy space, no chance to stock up—what’s the point?!”

Ming Ming was losing it.

“Watch out! Hide!” the system warned.

Too late. Wandering zombies had spotted her and were closing in fast.

“There’s a jeep ahead—get in and drive!”

“Can I even—?”

“You can! I’ll unlock it for you!”

Ming Ming grabbed the handle. The locked door clicked open instantly. She jumped inside—the engine was already running, and the tank was full.

Gripping the steering wheel, she said, “Alright. Go.”

System: “???”

Ming Ming blinked. “Wait, you mean I have to drive it myself?!”

“What did you expect? Step on it! They’re closing in!”

She slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The jeep roared forward, plowing through zombies. Between the thuds and splatters, her voice rose in a wild scream:

“You gave me a cheat—why can’t it DRIVE ITSELF?! I don’t know how to drive! I’ve only ever driven a TRACTOR!”

“It’s the same thing! Just do it the same way!”

“The same my ass!!!”