The house was in complete disarray, bloodstains covering the floor, but no people or zombies were seen inside.
Tang Yun picked up a phone from the sofa; it had long since run out of battery and shut down.
“Bang!” A door opening sound came from across the way.
“Xiao Yun, is that you?” Immediately afterward, a male voice followed.
Tang Yun looked toward the source of the sound and saw a handsome young man walking over.
“Xiao Yun, I’m Wang Zhan. Do you remember me?”
Tang Yun forced a faint smile; she truly didn’t remember. But before the incident, she recalled her family had been arranging a blind date for her—this neighbor who had returned from abroad.
Hadn’t he said he would only come back for the New Year? Why was he in G Town now?
“I remember. Do you know what happened to my parents? I didn’t see them when I came back.”
Wang Zhan’s face visibly darkened, tinged with regret. “Xiao Yun, your parents have passed away. The neighborhood’s voluntary zombie-clearing team removed them, and their ashes were buried under the trees in the community.”
“Please accept my condolences.”
Tang Yun felt a deep sorrow, standing silently on the balcony as she gazed at the bare trees below.
She hadn’t fully processed her emotions, but she needed to continue her journey.
Wang Zhan returned not long after leaving, carrying luggage with him.
“Xiao Yun, I’ll be heading to City A Shelter No. 3 with the survivors from the community. I heard it’s a large survivor base.”
“Shall we set off together?”
Tang Yun ignored his intense gaze. The childhood affection they shared wasn’t enough to make her trust this man, especially since she already had a more suitable partner.
After rejecting Wang Zhan’s proposal, Tang Yun and Lu Chuan planned their route to City A. If they took detours smoothly, they could arrive within ten days.
It was now the morning of the sixth day of the apocalypse. Rescue teams had never come to the community where Tang Yun’s parents lived, so the survivors there decided to form a group and head to Shelter No. 3.
The surrounding areas had been searched, and the existing supplies were nearly depleted. Staying in the community meant waiting for death.
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan had collected a considerable amount of gasoline along the way, storing it in their space. When they were ready to depart, they saw several jeeps parked in front of the community gate.
Over a dozen survivors were arranging seats, led by a security guard surnamed Wu. With fewer vehicles than people, chaos was inevitable.
Tang Yun glanced over a few times, thinking such commotion would likely attract many zombies.
Just as Lu Chuan started the newly replaced off-road vehicle, Wang Zhan approached with a young woman.
“Xiao Yun, I noticed you still have empty seats here. Would it be possible for me and my classmate Chuchu to ride along with you?”
“The other vehicles in the group are overcrowded, and Chuchu gets carsick.”
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s thoughts. She took a can of gasoline from the trunk and handed it to Wang Zhan.
“Wang Zhan, this gasoline is for you. There are still cars on the roadside; you can take one and drive yourselves.”
Her meaning was clear: she didn’t want to team up with others.
This can of gasoline was repayment—repayment for Wang Zhan telling her about her parents’ whereabouts.
Seeing Tang Yun’s actions, Wang Zhan looked both surprised and conflicted. He hadn’t expected this beautiful woman to be so resolute yet so generous.
From the rearview mirror, Tang Yun saw Wang Zhan and Chuchu driving behind them, even breaking away from the community’s group.
“Lu Chuan, there’s something off about them.”
She voiced the feeling in her heart. Logically speaking, even if they weren’t in the same vehicle as the team, they should have followed behind the group—undoubtedly safer that way.
Lu Chuan turned the steering wheel, his expression blank. “I’ll find a chance to shake them off.”
His driving skills were good. When they reached a residential area, he twisted and turned through the streets, quickly losing Wang Zhan, who had been following behind.
On the eighth day of the apocalypse, Tang Yun and Lu Chuan arrived at T City in A City. Shelter No. 3 was located in M City, adjacent to T City.
“Someone’s tailing us again,” Tang Yun said from the passenger seat, glancing at the rearview mirror with some frustration.
Hearing this, Lu Chuan looked up at the rearview mirror. Besides the zombies staggering in pursuit, he saw a car following at a distance.
It was too far to make out who it was.
That car had been lurking and following them for a long stretch—it couldn’t be ordinary survivors.
“I’ll shake them off. Tang Yun, pick a place for us to rest tonight.”
Tang Yun nodded. Lu Chuan stepped on the accelerator, roaring away in a cloud of dust, leaving the zombies far behind.
T City was empty, its former prosperity gone. Only bloodthirsty zombies roamed the streets and alleys.
The off-road vehicle passed through an industrial area. Tang Yun had chosen a location in a multi-story factory building to the south, which offered a relatively open view.
“Dr. Lu, they’ve caught up again. Could we have been bugged with a tracker?” Tang Yun frowned slightly. The off-road vehicle had been swapped randomly, so it couldn’t have been tagged with a tracker. And no one had gotten close enough to them along the way—how could a tracker have been planted without them noticing?
The pursuing car was getting closer and closer. Lu Chuan grew alert. “They’re getting bold.”
Tang Yun looked up, calming herself. “Let’s head to the factory building we chose. We’ll get to a higher vantage point and see who they are.”
The off-road vehicle parked inside the factory building. Tang Yun and Lu Chuan quickly climbed to the upper floors and set a trap.
Sure enough, a car stopped not far away, and several figures sneaked over, slipping into the factory building.
From the window on the top floor, they looked down and saw the three pursuers leap inside, agile and swift.
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan exchanged a glance, then suddenly attacked the newcomers with their weapons.
Tang Yun kicked a man into the air, while her trekking pole and axe struck out at the others. The three suffered injuries to varying degrees on their limbs and faces.
“It’s you!” Tang Yun immediately took out climbing rope and tied the three up, determined not to let them escape with smoke bombs like last time.
The short-haired woman was genuinely stunned. She hadn’t expected Tang Yun and Lu Chuan to have laid an ambush, waiting for them to take the bait.
“You… how did you—”
Before she could say more, Lu Chuan took out silver needles and pressed them against the pain points on their bodies, demanding their purpose.
“Why have you been following us all the way from R City?”
The three gritted their teeth in pain, angrily retorting, “We’re just heading to Shelter No. 3. We’re not tracking you.”
Tang Yun raised an eyebrow. “Dr. Lu, press harder. Make them tell the truth.”
The three clenched their jaws, biting their tongues until they bled, the pain making it hard to stay conscious.
Finally, the short-haired woman, Shen Lin, confessed. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”
Lu Chuan didn’t remove the silver needles from her body. In agony, Shen Lin revealed the whole story.
It turned out the three of them were players in an apocalyptic survival game. Their mission was to prevent opposing players from entering Shelter No. 3. After accepting the mission, they could see tracking red dots on other players.
Killing a player marked with a red dot meant clearing the level.
That was why the three conspired to hunt down Tang Yun.