"Darling, whatever you do, don't make a sound."
By the time Song Huai woke up, he had already been placed in solitary quarantine.
Once the anesthesia wore off, he sat up in a panic and rushed to the iron door with its single small window. "Brother, this wound really wasn't from a zombie. I just got scraped by the door bolt when I got out of the car. The incubation period has already passed now, so I should be able to leave, right?"
The fully protected doctor, holding a notebook and writing with his head down, didn't even glance at him. "The incubation period for the Zombie Virus is only loosely categorized as thirty minutes. There are individual differences in incubation periods, so according to base regulations, sir, you need to be quarantined for a few days."
"I already told you, this really wasn't from a zombie!"
The medical staff ignored him and took the notebook to the next quarantine room.
Song Huai truly couldn't figure out how he had been discovered, but thinking of Yun Ying at home, and that Ability User who had his eye on Yun Ying, he felt deeply uneasy.
Especially given the rumors in the base—he'd heard that survivors who had previously concealed their injuries had never appeared again.
The more Song Huai thought about it, the more anxious he became. He paced back and forth in the small quarantine room. Just when his emotions were about to reach a breaking point, he heard a chorus of greetings from outside.
"Captain."
Song Huai, as if seeing a savior, rushed to the door and looked through the small window. A man in uniform, powerfully built, was coming down the stairs.
It was Zhang Qin.
"Captain Zhang, I—I have something to say!" Song Huai stuck his arm out the window and waved at Zhang Qin.
Zhang Qin walked over to him, and Song Huai's heart leaped with joy.
"Do you remember me? Before, in the outer city, you lost something and I was the one who found it. I—"
"You're that survivor who concealed his injury?" Zhang Qin asked in a harsh tone, as if he hadn't recognized him.
Song Huai's expression turned awkward, and he explained in a low voice, "I still have a girlfriend at home to take care of. I was afraid that if I got locked up, it would be inconvenient for her to live alone. Captain, I know I was wrong. I can write a self-criticism and pay a fine, I—"
"Fine of one thousand Credits, and you'll be going on a Rank A mission with the base." Zhang Qin crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him.
Song Huai's face went deathly pale. He gripped the railing and said, "Captain, I'm just an ordinary Level 2 ability user. If I go on a Rank A mission, I'll definitely die!"
That meant charging into a Zombie Horde.
Rank A missions paid ten times the Credits of ordinary missions, but they were missions with a nine-in-ten chance of death—like going into a long-fallen city to retrieve a certain scientist, or entering a Zombie Horde to find scarce supplies, or even being sent to clean up a Zombie Tide.
Song Huai finally understood how those survivors who concealed their injuries had disappeared.
"Captain, I really can't go!" Song Huai said urgently. His originally handsome face had turned ferocious from sheer panic.
Zhang Qin narrowed his eyes, then suddenly changed his tone and smiled. "Mr. Song, your girlfriend has already paid the fine on your behalf. You really do have a good girlfriend—paying those Credits just like that."
Song Huai was stunned for a moment, then realized he meant Yun Ying. This wasn't actually anything surprising. Song Huai had long known that Yun Ying's nature wouldn't let her stand by and do nothing—she would definitely find a way.
But now was not the time to be concerned about Yun Ying either. His mind was full of the Rank A mission, and his knees were trembling: "Captain, Captain, I really can't go! Please help me, my girlfriend is still waiting for me at home, I really—"
"That's right, you do have a good girlfriend." Zhang Qin still repeated this one sentence. He seemed not to have answered Song Huai's words, yet it also seemed he had.
Song Huai's hand gripping the railing gradually loosened.
Zhang Qin smiled meaningfully: "You have a beautiful, gentle, smart, and lovely girlfriend. In the apocalypse, such people are just as appealing."
Song Huai was dazed, as if he understood what he meant.
In the apocalypse, there were too many people who, for the sake of profit, gave away their friends, lovers, even relatives like gifts. Survival took precedence over all principles and emotions.
In the apocalypse, the weak eked out a miserable existence, fighting for survival every day, while the strong lived prosperously and still had the leisure to dwell on matters between men and women.
So there was no need for Zhang Qin to spell it out at all; Song Huai already knew what he meant.
He did not think it was Zhang Qin who wanted Yun Ying. This Captain Zhang's wife, in order to seek a sliver of hope for him while he was awakening his supernatural ability, had lured the zombies away alone. It was absolutely impossible for Zhang Qin to betray his wife. His only purpose in living was to raise his child.
That meant someone around him wanted Yun Ying.
Song Huai stood in the isolation room for a long time. Zhang Qin waited quietly in the corridor outside the whole time, having dismissed all the medical staff. Here there were only him and Song Huai.
After about ten minutes, Song Huai, who had been hanging his head, raised it: "I… I can agree to anything."
The corners of Zhang Qin's mouth curved upward. He was clearly smiling, yet there was not the slightest trace of a smile in the depths of his eyes, making Song Huai feel his cheeks burn with heat. That kind of mocking and contemptuous gaze was all too common after the apocalypse.
Giving away the girlfriend who had just helped him moments ago, for the sake of survival—this was indeed a very despicable act.
In the corridor there were only the two of them. Two layers of windows were set into the towering walls.
Behind the one-way glass, several people stood quietly.
A person sat in an office chair, his appearance hidden in shadow, somewhat indistinct. He propped his forehead with one bent hand, while the other flipped through the documents placed on the desk.
Another hand tapped the tabletop now and then. The knock, knock sound was like striking a person's heart, excessively clear in the silent, cramped room.
He read for a while, then suddenly gave a laugh.
"How coincidental. She's actually here too."
"So the captain has given up?" He Fangchen sat down on the sofa and looked through the open-plan living room toward the second floor. Yu Yao lived in the master bedroom on the second floor.
Cheng Zainan tore open a bag of biscuits and glanced upstairs: "Five days. He can actually hold out this long. Has his conscience, dead for so many years, finally come back to life?"
"I don't think so." Lu Yao sat sideways in the sofa, fished a biscuit from Cheng Zainan, took a bite, and said vaguely, "A bad dog who falls for looks the moment he sees them—if he could give up, I'll take your surname."
These few people had to discuss it every day. They had never had any gossip about Yu Yao before, which made it all the more novel for them, and every day they chattered about him behind his back.
Sure enough, the sound of a door opening came from upstairs. The few of them hurriedly shut their mouths and began chatting randomly about trivial things.
When Yu Yao came downstairs, he glanced at them, quite disdainful of these pig teammates. He walked to the single sofa on the left and casually kicked the heavy coffee table over.
After spending several days studying the nonsensical drawings Cheng Zainan had made, Yu Yao had finally organized them into a clearer map. He spread the paper out on the table and shot the others a glare. "Come sit over here. This place isn't safe—let's get this done quickly and head back early."
Time for business. The others sighed and shuffled over reluctantly.
Circles marked several locations on the map. Yu Yao spoke in a calm tone. "There are at least six levels underground. The top five aren't heavily guarded, and two of those are quarantine zones. Lu Yao and Lin Xizhi will stand watch outside. Old He, Cheng Zainan, and I will go in—Old He will jam the surveillance, Cheng Zainan will use his ability to locate the High-rank Zombie, and I'll handle the other two levels myself."
Cheng Zainan frowned. "That zombie is high-ranked—possibly on par with you, Captain. I'm worried you won't be able to handle it alone."
Yu Yao said, "Once a fight breaks out, they'll definitely send reinforcements, and I'll get boxed in. That's why I need you and Old He to intercept the pursuers underground. As for the ones on the surface, that's Lu Yao and Lin Xizhi's job. As for the High-rank Zombie, I'll do my best. Safety comes first."
He had carried out too many high-risk missions to count. Their squad had charged through Zombie Hordes more than a few times without incident, and the team members trusted Yu Yao implicitly. So when he insisted on something, they didn't push back much.
Cheng Zainan nodded. "Alright, we'll intercept the reinforcements. When you get the chance, Captain, kill that High-rank Zombie on the spot, extract its crystal core, and we'll retreat immediately."
Yu Yao went over the key points in detail again, and they ran through the backup plans a few more times. The mission was set.
He downed the rest of his water in one gulp and stood up. "Then go get ready. We move tonight—no more delays. A Zombie Tide is gathering around Jiangcheng Base. If we wait any longer, we won't be able to leave."
Lin Xizhi tilted her head up to look at him. "What about the pretty girl? Not taking her?"
Yu Yao raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "Of course I'm taking her."
His precious treasure—how could he bear to give her up?
Yun Ying waited at home for five days. Every day she went to the main hall to ask, but the people there only had her fill out a visitation request form and never contacted her again.
In those five days, she hadn't seen Yu Yao either, which put her somewhat at ease. Her dislike was written all over her face, and Yu Yao was living so comfortably—why would someone so proud bother to throw himself at her?
Yun Ying had no choice but to start taking on missions. That morning, she'd gone to the mission hall and signed up for a supply run. She'd just gotten home when a knock came at her door.
Yun Ying stood behind the door. "Who is it?"
A voice from outside said, "Miss Yun, we're City Guard staff. Your boyfriend's detention has ended. Someone needs to come sign as his guarantor before the base will release him."
…It was already over?
Yun Ying opened the door. The person at the front was someone she'd seen at the main hall before—the one who'd helped her file the visitation request—and they were holding a City Guard execution badge.
She didn't have time to overthink it. "Wait a moment, let me grab a jacket."
Yun Ying hurried back inside, threw a hoodie over her short sleeves, and followed them downstairs into the car.
Sitting in the vehicle, she asked quietly, "Excuse me, after Song… after my boyfriend's detention ends, is there anything else?"
"The fine's been paid and the detention period is over. Nothing else." The driver answered without turning around.
Yun Ying's delicate brows knitted slightly. She thought to herself—could she really have been overthinking things?
This black sedan passed another vehicle of the same color.
Yun Ying didn't see Song Huai sitting in the passenger seat.
Song Huai got out of the car and slowly walked toward the residential building. Just as he was about to step into the stairwell, he turned back and glanced at the car parked outside—a tall figure sat in the driver's seat.
Zhang Qin rolled down the window and smiled at him. "Mr. Song, I'll wait for you here."
Song Huai forced a faint smile, nodding and bending slightly as he replied, "Yes, I'll be as quick as I can."
He gripped the ticket in his hand—a voucher that could exempt him from high-risk missions. Song Huai knew that if he didn't hand over Yun Ying, he'd be forced to take on a Rank A mission: either to search for supplies in fallen cities or to clear out a Zombie Tide.
Like the one they'd seen a few days ago. The base had already been preparing to purge it.
He had no choice.
Besides, Yun Ying was already planning to move out. She didn't care for him.
Tonight, he would send Yun Ying off. Zhang Qin would take her somewhere—probably to that person's side. Being with someone stronger meant a better life, didn't it?
Song Huai's gaze suddenly turned dark. Reaching the fifth floor, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. A burst of jasmine fragrance greeted him. The floor was spotless, everything neatly arranged.
But one person was missing.
Song Huai frowned slightly. If Yun Ying wasn't on a mission, she rarely went out.
If she needed to buy food—but her Credit Card was still on the table.
From the corridor behind him, a couple coming down from the sixth floor suddenly spoke up: "…Hey, where have you been these past few days?"
Song Huai smiled awkwardly. "I was out on a mission."
"A mission?" The young man, arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, saw the open door and waved a hand. "You're looking for your girlfriend, right? Someone from the City Guard just came to pick her up. I saw them as I was heading upstairs. They said she needed to come get you—that you couldn't get out otherwise. What were you doing at the City Guard anyway?"
The City Guard?
Song Huai had just come from the City Guard. Why would anyone go there to pick him up?
After the couple walked off, he closed the door and went downstairs. Zhang Qin was still waiting there. Seeing him come down alone, he frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Song Huai looked bewildered and scratched his head. "Someone from the City Guard just showed up. They said my girlfriend needed to come get me—that otherwise I couldn't get out."
Zhang Qin said, "The City Guard has no such rule. The walk is short enough for you to come back on your own—why would anyone need to fetch you? Besides, all the necessary paperwork was done beforehand. Your girlfriend already signed the consent form."
He paused mid-sentence, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightening.
"…Someone's impersonating them. They've taken your girlfriend."
The vehicle drove all the way to the main complex. Yun Ying had been there a few times over the past few days. She got out of the car and followed the escort into the complex, but there was still no sign of Song Huai.
Yun Ying said, "Excuse me, where is my boyfriend?"
The team leader replied, "For the safety of the base, the quarantine rooms are several floors underground. Please understand—we'll need to go to the quarantine level for you to sign."
Yun Ying's steps slowed. She stood outside the elevator while the team leader stood inside, gesturing for her to enter. "Please, come in, Miss Yun. I still have matters to attend to tonight—the sooner you collect your man, the better."
Yun Ying forced a faint smile. She had no choice but to move now.
"Alright, thank you for your trouble."
She stepped inside. She hadn't ridden an elevator since the apocalypse began; the sudden sensation of weightlessness made every cell in her body feel uneasy.
Yun Ying glanced at the elevator panel—the floor indicator only went down to B5, so this place should have just five levels.
But the elevator didn't stop at B5. It descended one more level. Yun Ying's brows knitted tightly as she turned her head to ask, "What is—"
Before she could finish, someone shoved her, and she stumbled out of the elevator. By the time she spun around in panic, the doors had already slammed shut and the elevator was shooting upward, as if afraid something might chase after it.
Yun Ying hurriedly pressed the call button, but the elevator seemed stuck above, refusing to come back down.
She turned to find the emergency stairwell, intending to climb up on foot. She'd barely taken two steps when she heard a scraping sound.
It was the sound of fingernails clawing against a wall.
And not just one set.
Yun Ying raised her hand to cover her mouth, not daring to let out a single sound. She knew all too well what made that clawing sound and those dragging footsteps.
She pressed herself against the wall, inching along, and slipped into a corner, using the curtain there as cover just in time to hide from a zombie that walked past her. It was too close—only a thin curtain separated them.
Yun Ying had no wounds on her body, nor was she in her menstrual period. As long as she made no sound, these mindless low-rank zombies wouldn't detect her.
She stood there, hand clamped over her mouth, gripping one corner of the curtain tightly, terrified that the wandering zombie might unconsciously drift her way. Only when the zombie finally moved off did Yun Ying cautiously lift the curtain to peek out—the zombie's sounds came from about twenty or thirty meters away.
She had to find a way out. Otherwise, once night fell and the zombies' semi-hibernation ended, their agility and sense of smell would increase dramatically, and Yun Ying would have no way to survive.
She edged along the wall, following the signs overhead, and crept to a corner. She poked her head out—several zombies stood at the intersection. Startled, she pulled back immediately.
After waiting a long while, the zombies wandered off. Yun Ying dashed across quietly, staying low the whole way.
She heard no zombie sounds and assumed the path was safe—until she peered around the next corner.
…Three zombies stood with their backs to her, right on the only route to the emergency stairwell. They weren't wandering aimlessly, nor were they clawing at the walls with their sharp nails—which was exactly why Yun Ying, with her limited combat experience, had been fooled into approaching.
She quickly pulled her head back, preparing to retreat to where she'd been. That was when she heard it—behind her, from the corner, came the sound of fingernails scraping against the wall, along with soft gurgling breaths and the dragging shuffle of soles against the floor.
Yun Ying's heart leapt into her throat. She covered her mouth and carefully tried the door handle beside her—it wouldn't budge. It seemed locked from the inside. With no other option, she quietly reached for the spare fire axe mounted on the wall.
In the safe base, weapons were hung every few steps to deal with zombies.
She'd just taken down the axe when the zombie at the corner extended its hand. Yun Ying saw dirty, sharp nails digging into the cement wall.
Suddenly, a lean, powerful arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her backward. Yun Ying's heart raced, a scream nearly escaping her lips before another hand clamped over her mouth.
The locked door behind her—its handle had somehow melted away, the iron dripping down the door panel like water droplets. Yun Ying had already been pulled inside, and the door quietly closed behind them without a single sound.
Yun Ying's back pressed against a scorching embrace. Around her, besides the disinfectant smell of this room, there was a familiar scent—no stench of zombies, utterly clean.
Yu Yao covered her mouth, holding her tight against him. His gaze fixed on the door that had no handle and couldn't be locked. Several zombies in the hallway had already wandered over. If even one zombie accidentally pushed the door open, they would be exposed.
There were too many zombies down here. A few zombies would be easy to deal with, but if a large horde flooded into this narrow space, it would be hard to handle.
Yu Yao's arm, which had been wrapped around her waist, condensed a fire cone. Feeling Yun Ying's trembling, he lowered his head, pressing his face against hers, his voice so soft only the two of them could hear.
"Baby, don't make a sound, no matter what."