The music drew the zombies’ attention, sending them swarming toward the orphanage. Yun Huacen waited for a while before driving closer, parking in front of a small shed behind the building.
“Uncle, the cellar entrance is through here.” Yu Lei said, pointing at the shed.
Sitting in the car, Yun Huacen scanned the surroundings. Only after confirming there were no zombies nearby did he lead the children out of the vehicle. They approached the shed and found it locked. After glancing around, he bent down, picked up a rock, and prepared to smash the lock open.
Cui Hao hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uncle, I can open this kind of lock.”
Yun Huacen was taken aback but quickly replied, “Then go ahead.”
Cui Hao pulled a bobby pin from his pocket, fiddled with the lock a couple of times, and it clicked open. He pushed the door ajar, turned to Yun Huacen, and announced, “Uncle, it’s open.”
Yun Huacen patted his head and praised, “Well done!”
Cui Hao’s eyes lit up as he smiled and said, “Thank you, Uncle.”
Armed with his homemade spear, Yun Huacen led the children into the cellar. After ensuring it was safe, he set the spear aside and urged, “Let’s work quickly. Take as much as we can carry.”
The cellar was stocked with plenty of food, mostly long-lasting vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes. There were also rice, flour, cooking oil, cured meats, and eggs. Having gone hungry for days, the children now deeply understood the importance of food. They helped Yun Huacen load the car, filling the trunk to the brim, stuffing the back seat, and even piling items on the roof.
“It’s full. Let’s get out of here.”
Yun Huacen locked the door again and hurried the children back into the car, planning to return the next day. But as soon as he started the engine, he spotted two zombies emerging at the intersection.
Yu Lei tensed up. “Uncle, zombies! What do we do?”
“Hold on tight!”
Gritting his teeth, Yun Huacen floored the accelerator. The car lurched forward, slamming into the two zombies and sending them flying. Green slime and rotting flesh splattered across the windshield. Yun Huacen turned on the wipers to clear the mess and sped toward the villa as fast as possible.
Meanwhile, just after the car passed, four people, three men and one woman, emerged from the woods beside the road. The woman shouted after the departing vehicle, only to have one of the men clamp a hand over her mouth.
“Are you insane?” the man growled, his face dark. “If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you!”
The woman shoved his hand away. “What do you know? That car just now cost at least five million. The driver must be loaded.”
The men exchanged glances. “Are you serious?”
“Of course! I know luxury cars better than you know women. If we befriend the owner, we’ll have everything we want. No more suffering like this.”
“But he drove into the mountains. What rich person lives in the mountains?”
“If you’re rich enough, you can build a villa anywhere, even underwater.”
“If there really is a villa, we’ll finally have a place to stay.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
…
The four followed the road uphill, searching for nearly two hours until they finally caught sight of the villa. They were overjoyed.
“There really is a villa!”
The woman tossed her hair triumphantly. “I told you there would be.”
“Building a villa deep in the mountains… rich people really are something else.”
“The rich are all snobs, and given the current special circumstances, do you think they’ll even open the door for us?”
“If they don’t open the door, does that mean we can’t get in? Use your brain before you speak.”
Seeing the three men’s expressions shift, the woman quickly understood their meaning. She warned, “I’m telling you, don’t do anything reckless. These wealthy people have powerful connections. Offending them won’t end well for us.”
“What does it matter now? Half the city has already fallen. Who’s going to hold them accountable? Besides, we’re deep in the mountains… even if something happens, who would ever know it was us?”
“Rich people like them have seen all kinds of women. Don’t think for a second he’d fall for your charms. Stop being naive. Relying on others is pointless, only money in your own hands is truly secure.”
The woman hesitated for a moment before asking, “So, what’s your plan?”
“Villas like these usually have surveillance cameras. You go scout first and see if there are any blind spots.”
“Alright.”
Just as they finalized their plan, a rustling sound startled them. They turned quickly to see a black cat emerging from the bushes.
“Damn it! Scared the hell out of me!”
One of the men picked up a nearby rock, glaring maliciously at the cat before hurling it with force. The black cat nimbly dodged the stone and lunged straight at the man.
“Ah!” Three bloody gashes appeared on the man’s face, narrowly missing his eye.
The others swung their weapons, trying to strike the cat, but it was incredibly agile. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t even graze a single hair.
“Ah!” Another scream echoed as the woman’s arm was slashed, blood instantly welling up. She glared furiously at the cat. “Brother Jun, kill it for me!”
Lei Jun tightened his grip on the stick, eyes fixed on the black cat, ready to deliver a fatal blow. Suddenly, someone from behind tackled him to the ground. His head hit a rock, and everything went dark. A sharp pain shot through his neck. When his vision cleared, the last thing he saw was his companion, now turned into a zombie.
“Ah!” The woman stumbled backward in terror at the sight. “Z-Zombie! Hu Zi… he’s been infected!”
Gao Hai turned to look at the transformed Hu Qiang and immediately understood. He shouted, “It’s that cat! The cat carries the zombie virus. If it scratches you, you’ll get infected!”
The woman froze, then stared at the wound on her arm, shaking her head in disbelief. “No! That can’t be true! Don’t talk nonsense!”
Gao Hai didn’t dare stay any longer. He grabbed the bag Lei Jun had dropped and bolted.
Seeing this, the woman snapped back to reality and cried out, “Gao Hai, don’t leave me behind!”
Her shout only angered Hu Qiang. He stopped gnawing on Lei Jun and instead lunged at her. The woman was already weaker than the men, and with the zombie virus enhancing Hu Qiang’s strength, she was quickly overpowered. Amid her screams, she was torn open.
Gao Hai was terrified, desperately running toward the villa. Just as he was about to reach the door, he was suddenly pounced on by the cat, which bit into his neck, severing his carotid artery. Blood gushed out. Although he was bleeding rapidly, death was not immediate, and in that time, he experienced extreme horror, the flesh on his face was gnawed away, his scalp torn open, his skull pierced. He even felt the sensation of its tongue licking his brain.
“Alert! Alert!”
Yun Huacen had just finished unloading the car with the children when he received the alert. He hurriedly took out his phone to check and happened to see the cat devouring Gao Hai’s brain.
“Ugh!” His stomach churned, and Yun Huacen couldn’t help but retch.
Seeing this, Yu Lei walked over and asked with concern, “Uncle, are you okay?”
Yun Huacen pressed the lock button on his phone. “Hurry inside, it’s not safe out here!”
The children were momentarily stunned. Though puzzled, they followed Yun Huacen’s instructions and filed into the living room. Yun Huacen reopened the surveillance feed and found the cat was gone, leaving only a corpse behind.
Sun Qi approached Yun Huacen and said, “Uncle, there’s a bit too much food. The fridge can’t hold it all. Should we store it in the basement?”
Yun Huacen glanced at the clock and replied, “I’ll move it in a moment. You go prepare some food, just enough to eat, no waste.”
“Okay,” Sun Qi responded before turning and walking away.
Yun Huacen searched all areas covered by the surveillance but couldn’t find the cat. He looked at the food piled in the living room, then at the corpse in the yard. Getting up, he went to the storage room, pulled out a handcart, loaded the food onto it, and pushed it toward the laboratory.
“Uncle, let us help you.” Yu Lei and Cui Hao offered as they approached.
“No need,” Yun Huacen declined their kindness. “Go check out the second floor. There are three rooms up there, two people per room. You’ll sleep there tonight.”
“Okay, thank you, Uncle.” Their eyes lit up, and they called the others to join them as they headed upstairs.
Yun Huacen stored the food in the cold storage room, checked the operation of the water purification equipment and the water level in the pump, and then entered the laboratory.
Yue Zirui was already awake, sitting dazedly in the cage. When he saw Yun Huacen enter, he immediately stood up excitedly and demanded, “Who are you, really?”
Hearing this question, Yun Huacen became even more certain of his suspicion. “That’s what I should be asking you. Who are you? What grudge do you have against me? Why did you attack me?”
Yue Zirui opened his mouth, then swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. “Where are the others?”
“You haven’t answered my question yet.”
Yue Zirui stared directly at Yun Huacen. “You’re not a good person. I attacked you to save myself.”
“What makes you say I’m not a good person?”
“If you were a good person, why did you drug us? And why did you prepare these cages?”
Seeing the barely concealed hatred in his eyes, Yun Huacen confirmed that Yue Zirui was different from him, he was a reincarnated soul. Only a reincarnated Yue Zirui would harbor such animosity toward the original host. “I’m a medical student. This is my laboratory. I prepared these cages for medical research. You didn’t think they were for you, did you?”
“Weren’t they?” Yue Zirui glared intently at Yun Huacen. “Then why did you drug us?”
Instead of answering, Yun Huacen asked, “How many cages are there here?”
Yue Zirui hesitated for a moment before replying, “Ten.”
“How long did it take to build these cages? And how long to install them?” Seeing Yue Zirui remain silent, Yun Huacen continued, “Were there any signs before the zombie virus outbreak? Did I invite you to take refuge in the villa?”
“These cages were prepared for those who came to the villa. Even if it wasn’t us, it would have been someone else. You intend to use living people for experiments.”
“You have a persecution complex,” Yun Huacen said with an amused look. “If what you said were true, and I wanted to experiment on living people, wouldn’t you kids be the perfect subjects? Then why would I let you go?”
Yue Zirui was left speechless. This was exactly what he couldn’t understand. “So what exactly are you planning?”