​​Chapter 05

month later.

Trouble struck.

The zombies' movements grew faster—some could even pounce. Outside, a tattered man in a ripped T-shirt effortlessly leaped onto a Jeep Wrangler's roof.

Their accelerated evolution was staggering.

While Secretary Lin Ling was keeping watch, a small zombie slammed against the window. Gray-white eyes peered through the gaps in the solar panels.

Lin Ling shrieked in terror.

The zombie shrieked back. Even through the glass, those chilling screams clawed into our ears. I yanked Lin Ling away, ordering everyone to flatten themselves to the floor.

Too late.

sluggish, dragging shuffle drew near. The horde had been summoned. Through the pan-tilt camera I'd installed earlier, I saw them clearly: they battered rotting gray faces against the security grating. Some cracked off decayed noses or lips; others burst eyeballs under pressure. At least four to five hundred.

Ruan Tingting and Lin Ling shattered into competing screams. With no choice, I struck Lin Ling unconscious.

Before Xiao Chu could reach Ruan Tingting, Qiu Ze lashed out—a fist to her skull. She crumpled.

Pure revulsion darkened his face.

Beating his unreachable crush? Impressive.

Under the relentless impact, the grating creaked loose; chunks of concrete crumbled away.

This couldn't hold.

"Xiao Chu!"

"Here!"

scaled the filing cabinets. Chairwoman Li panicked: "Dai Mei, where are you going?"

Qiu Ze pleaded: "A'Mei~ please don't leave..."

"Running away?"

"Fuck this! She's leaving us?"

"Die together then!"

Before the words died, Zhao Kai lunged. Xiao Chu reacted instantly—a swift hook sent him stumbling back.

addressed the vent opening, projecting calm:

"Relax! I'm not abandoning any of you!"

"We can't fight back here! Xiao Chu and I are heading to the storage room!"

"Stay silent!"

The storage room held our weapons—crafted by Xiao Chu and me during the long, anxious days of hauling supplies. Preparation had consumed every moment not spent resting or moving cargo.

The windows here lacked security grates. They’d make a battlefield—but only once.

"Sister, you afraid?" Xiao Chu asked, shoving cardboard boxes against the sill.

"Worst case? I turn into one of them."

"Sister, I'll protect you."

Me: "…"

The storage room was strategically sandwiched between Finance and the General Office, well within my throwing range.

"Attack!"

shattered the glass with the baton, quickly lit rags wrapped around liquor bottles, and hurled them into the seething crowd outside.

Crack—

The bottles exploded. Fire licked two zombies' ragged clothes.

They felt no pain, but fire instinctually terrified them. As we launched bottle after bottle, the horde became a writhing sea of flames.

Eight cases emptied.

The stench of scorched alcohol and burning flesh filled the air. Zombies fled, torches igniting others in their panicked flight. The rest scattered.

"Pull back!"

With no access vent here, we had to exit through the door, climb onto the dry goods shelves, and then return.

But the moment we stepped out, my heart lurched.

Dozens of zombies surged from the aisles.

"Run!"

pivoted right, dragging Xiao Chu toward the produce section. Thank God he was athletic—long legs carrying him ahead of me in strides.

My heart sank.

Maybe I wouldn't make it.

Then he seized my hand. Instead of abandoning me, he hauled me forward, his grip desperate.

Two mutated zombies were gaining. One clawed nearly touched my elbow.

"Go!" Xiao Chu roared, pumping his legs harder as we darted around two aisles. The gap widened.

We reached produce, and before us gaped several open freezer cases.

"Xiao Chu! Jump!"

He leapt into the empty case beside me. I slammed the glass lid shut as I scrambled into mine.

My luck ran out. This freezer held chunks of rotting meat, swimming in putrid soup. Reeking. No choice. I grabbed two rancid slabs and hurled them into the nearby aisle. Then I slid into the vile liquid, yanking the lid tight.

God, the stench. Almost suffocated.

The zombies swarmed.

My gamble paid off.

Mindless, they only slammed and bit.

My freezer case rammed into the wall. The jolt mixed with the overpowering stench forced bile up my throat. I clenched my jaw.

Thankfully, the rotting meat I'd thrown distracted them. Drawn by the stronger smell, they turned, attacking the metal shelves. Teeth scraped and gnawed.

Clank. Crunch.

Hah. Dimwitted fools.

It lasted perhaps fifteen minutes before abruptly stopping. Something drew them away—footsteps fading down the fire escape corridor. Likely, there were survivors below in Warehouse Level B1, the security dorm, or B2 parking.

smelled worse than the zombies.

"Help me tip some water barrels."

We locked ourselves inside Finance.

"Xiao Chu, wait in the inner office."

rummaged through the desks—found soap, disposable toothbrushes, towels, a lunchbox.

used seven or eight barrels of water. By the end, I was drenched but clean. Clad in the Finance Director’s tracksuit, my hair twisted into a damp knot.

"Done."

Xiao Chu stood in the inner office, face flushed crimson to the tips of his ears.

The realization hit me.

"You saw nothing. Heard nothing. OK?"

spat the words, my gaze locking onto the vault set into the wall. The armored truck hadn't made its pickup before everything collapsed… Then…

selfish impulse seized me. I pocketed a phone from a desk drawer.

Reaching for the door, his voice halted me.

"Sister… I did see. Actually, I—"

Heat flooded my face. I didn’t turn.

Swearing silently, I moved for the exit.

Suddenly, his hand gripped my shoulder. His chest heaved violently. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous purr.

"Sister…"

He flung his glasses aside.

The puppy transformed into a wolf.

Sharp, hooded eyes. Dark pupils glittering.

froze, breath caught.

Then he stepped closer. His straight nose brushed mine. All air vanished.

Warm fingers tangled in my damp hair. His lips met mine—soft as jelly, setting off electric shocks across my skin. My breath hitched.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

"No, I—"

"Shut it."

Fighting the urge to push him down, I flung open the door and tossed a stapler outside. Silence. Scaling the shelves to the dry goods section, I dragged several boxes of food toward the vent.

expected quiet relief—maybe small cheers—back in the General Office. We’d pushed back the horde. We brought food.

was wrong.

The moment Ruan Tingting caught the scent of my soap, she pointed at my dripping hair and spat:

"See? They washed themselves! When things are this tight, they bathed!"

"Fuck! Dai Mei! How selfish can you be!"

"Is the water yours?"

"You used it all! What are we supposed to drink?!"

scanned their faces. A cold, silent laugh coiled inside me.

Qiu Ze dropped his supplies. Grabbing my shoulders, he snarled:

"Did you? You showered together, didn’t you?!"

laughed darkly. "None of your damn business!"

"All of you—shut up! What gives you the right?" Chairwoman Li limped over and wrapped her arms around me, warm hands covering my ears.

As Xiao Chu heaved the final box down, he fixed Qiu Ze with a glare. Then, like coiled lightning, he slammed him against the wall and clamped his hand around his throat.

"I nearly died out there! Know how many zombies we fought?!"

"Without her, you’d all be dead!"

"She shoved me in that freezer! Or I’d be a zombie right now… chewing through your stupid faces!"

"You didn’t smell her! Covered in that rotten meat-water! Who was that for?!"

"We nearly got killed hauling back food! Just for us?!"

"What? Cat got your tongues?! SPEAK!"

Xiao Chu finished, energy draining. He slumped to the floor, sobbing like a wounded child.

The last time I’d cried was leaving the military.

Hearing Xiao Chu’s furious defense shattered that resolve. Buried against Chairwoman Li’s shoulder, I shook with deep, wrenching sobs.

Auntie Zhou came over, gently patting my back. "Little Dai… it’s thanks to you. Hush now. We just have to hold on… This will pass."