Song Jinhe did not hide the truth. “At the time, I hid in a cabinet during the chaos. When I really ran out of options, I had no choice but to risk running out.”
Zhang Yi shared some food with Song Jinhe. Although the mother and son pair looked unhappy about it, they couldn’t really say anything, since the food had been brought by Cheng Yan and the others.
Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened. The torrential rain that had lasted for over half a month finally stopped, and the atmosphere in the room also fell silent.
There was only one single bed in the room. The middle-aged woman’s son, who was in his twenties, had already fallen asleep. No one bothered arguing over it, so they pushed chairs together or simply slept on the tables to make do.
Every second of the night felt unbearably long. The howling outside and the scratching sound of nails scraping against the door never stopped, as if the horde would break through at any moment and tear into their bodies.
Even the earliest awakened ability users, if they went out alone at night without firearms, would die upon encountering three or more zombies, let alone ordinary people.
Song Jinhe was so exhausted that she finally closed her eyes and slept for a while.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city—
Under bright lights came the cold electronic sound of a countdown reminder.
Outside the neat and orderly office was complete chaos. Black blood soaked classified documents, and zombie corpses lay strewn everywhere.
In the sealed laboratory next door, several zombies in white lab coats with work badges hanging around their necks pressed themselves against the specially made glass, growling hoarsely.
【Zone C energy below 5%. Non-essential equipment will soon shut down automatically!】
【Zone B energy below 1%…】
The man sitting inside the office slowly removed the gold-rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose, took off his white coat, and carefully hung it in the wardrobe, followed by his work badge.
Beneath the neatly attached photo was his name—Jiang Shian.
【The laboratory will shut down in 3 minutes. Self-destruction mode activating.】
His expression was far too calm, especially in contrast to the zombie growls outside and the empty laboratory around him.
The flickering light outlined the refined, elegant lines of his features and those dark, unfathomable eyes. He appeared as composed as if today were merely another ordinary day, and the countdown on the wall, now under two minutes, was simply the signal that it was time to get off work.
Yet this underground research facility, carrying the highest level of secrecy clearance, was about to cease to exist, just like the fallen civilization outside.
He opened the drawer, skillfully assembled the handgun inside, and after a brief hesitation, slipped his work badge and fountain pen into his pocket.
Then, with one hand, he picked up a suitcase nearly half a person’s height and walked out of the office.
Beep, beep—
The countdown dropped to 50 seconds.
A gunshot rang out, and the lights behind him abruptly went dark.
The next day, dawn had only just begun to brighten the sky.
Hidden beneath Shen Wu’s anxious expression was a trace of viciousness.
He suddenly remembered the scene from a few days ago, those two old bastards screaming his name while being torn apart by zombies.
Before the apocalypse, those old bastards had spent so much money on medical treatment. That money was supposed to be his. Every bit they spent meant less left for him. Then after the apocalypse came, they still wanted to drag him down and die together with him.
Back then, he had been able to abandon his burdensome parents. Now, he could also choose someone from this group to push out.
He still had a small fruit knife hidden in his pocket.
If he found an opportunity to kill Cheng Yan, then he would be the one calling the shots here. He had long since gotten sick of that idiot. Even before the apocalypse, he had hated these money-grabbing doctors.
The zombies outside still hadn’t left. Song Jinhe silently took out two glass bottles from the cabinet and began cutting up the clothes she had wrapped around her arms yesterday.
Cheng Yan opened his mouth. “What are you doing?”
“This door doesn’t look like it’ll hold much longer. It’s best to leave while the rain has stopped. Does anyone have a lighter?”
Song Jinhe took the lighter Peng Zhixue handed over. “I checked the supplies here. We can make two simple Molotov cocktails.”
“You know how to make Molotov cocktails? What exactly do you do?” Peng Zhixue looked at Song Jinhe again, curiosity showing in his eyes.
“If you learn a bit of math, physics, and chemistry, you’ll know how.” Song Jinhe casually made up an excuse.
The reason she knew these things was because of memories from struggling through three years of the apocalypse. She had been an arts student in the humanities stream, and she had even taken time off from school because of her health, there was no way she could have been good at math and science.
She did know a little about traditional handmade crafting, though. She had learned it while bored during her leave from school.
“My car is parked about four hundred meters away, but there are dozens of zombies wandering in between.” Cheng Yan paused. “Are you sure your Molotov cocktails will work? This isn’t a video game.”
Song Jinhe picked up one Molotov cocktail and handed it to Cheng Yan, deliberately intercepting Shen Wu’s reaching hand in the process. “No problem. I can go out first.”
“Xiao Cheng, it’s not that I’m unwilling to help, but look at me.” Jiang Hongrong stepped forward, looking troubled as she spoke sincerely to Cheng Yan.
“You’ve known your teacher, Doctor Zhou, and me for over ten years. You know my condition. I’m a patient, I can’t run fast. My son doesn’t understand anything either. We’d only hold you back.”
“How about this? We’ll follow behind you. Once you get the car started, let us get in first. My son and I only have each other to rely on. You can’t just abandon us. Once we reach a shelter, I’ll find connections and make arrangements for all of you.”
Their own car was parked in the underground garage and had been flooded, so it wouldn’t start. Cheng Yan’s car couldn’t even fit this many people in the trunk, so she had to make sure she and her son got in first.
As for what happened after reaching the shelter, who cared about these people?
Cheng Yan tactfully explained that he himself might not even survive, so he couldn’t take responsibility for the safety of the mother and son. With such a grown son still needing others to protect him, he wasn’t some bodyguard.
“I’m only thinking about you people. I don’t want to drag you down.” Jiang Hongrong failed to get the answer she wanted, and displeasure flashed across her face.
Cheng Yan could open the door to let people in, so how could he not take responsibility for the safety of her, a patient! He had no medical ethics at all.
Shelter?
Hearing that keyword, Song Jinhe secretly shook her head. Just like the places where hospital survivors had previously gathered, the appearance of even a single zombie would become a devastating disaster.
The earliest zombies hadn’t appeared because of bites. No one knew the source of the zombies. People would suddenly develop a fever, die, and then revive.
After the first phase, that situation stopped happening, but less than thirty percent of humanity remained alive.
While they were talking, Song Jinhe used cloth strips, a baseball bat, a badminton racket, and alcohol to make two more crude torches.
Click. Click.
The frantic rattling of the doorknob instantly made everyone’s scalps go numb.
“The zombies can actually open doors!” Cheng Yan’s eyes widened.
“There’s no time left.” Song Jinhe tucked the Molotov cocktails away and pushed open the window to climb outside.
The zombies had already forced the room door open by a crack. Jiang Hongrong, who had just claimed she couldn’t run, climbed out the window with astonishing speed.
There were also plenty of zombies outside, especially near the intersection.
“What do we do, Xiao Cheng? They’re coming over! Hurry and think of something!” Jiang Hongrong urged anxiously from behind.
Song Jinhe looked at Cheng Yan. “Give me some time. I can lure them away.”
“Alright.” Cheng Yan did not hesitate as he took the crude torch from Song Jinhe.
Song Jinhe lit the first Molotov cocktail and hurled it into the zombie crowd.
Flames instantly burst upward.