The group emerged outside and breathed a slight sigh of relief upon finding the corridor clear of the undead, immediately following Ye Chen swiftly toward the stairwell.

The blood-stained stairwell featured dripping, startling splashes of blood. Ye Chen’s expression was grave; holding the smoldering wooden plank, he peered down, then snatched up a worn leather shoe from the ground nearby and tossed it down.

Clang!

The shoe struck the stair railing, the sound echoing loudly in the deathly silence.

Bauer and the man and woman held their breath, their arms gripping the pistols trembling slightly. After a moment, with no reaction from below, silence descended once more.

The atmosphere felt strangely sinister.

Ye Chen estimated the time, then led the way down. Bauer and the others had no choice but to follow, none daring to utter a sound. Soon, they reached the 12th floor. They encountered no zombies on the way down; most of the pursuing undead had scrambled onto the rooftop.

They descended steadily. Occasionally, they ran into a lone zombie mid-descent, but Ye Chen promptly smashed its skull in. Dealing with single zombies was not difficult for him, but in large numbers, escape was the only option; a single scratch meant infection.

Upon reaching the first floor, Ye Chen immediately spotted a pool of blood near the far wall, scattered with bones, fingers, intestines, and a skull gnawed into a bloody pulp. Bauer and the others turned pale, unsure if they were awed by the gore or terrified by Ye Chen’s cold-blooded efficiency.

A newcomer had just dispatched a veteran who had already completed two or three main missions, and he had done so using the most insidious method!

Ye Chen remained composed, surveyed the surroundings for any approaching undead, then walked over to the pool of blood. He picked up a torn piece of body armor, searched it, and found a few emergency rounds and a lighter, which he pocketed casually before discarding the ruined vest. He then gathered the sniper rifle, a small handgun, three boxes of ammunition, and a sharp little dagger from the floor.

There were 25 rounds per box. Including the loaded handgun, that made 98 bullets in total. Ye Chen casually tossed the sniper rifle to Yue Heng. “For self-defense.”

Yue Heng accepted it without ceremony, testing the weight before smiling and putting it away.

Ye Chen handed the small handgun and one box of ammunition to his sister. The remaining two boxes he entrusted to Bai Long and Zhuge Fan for safekeeping; carrying too many boxes would impede their combat readiness.

Bauer and the others watched Ye Chen openly carve up Tony’s “inheritance,” their lips twitching slightly. Soon, however, they saw Ye Chen lead the way out of the building. The zombies outside had rushed over in pursuit earlier, leaving only two or three stragglers on the street now.

Bai Long and the others followed Ye Chen with practiced synchronicity, moving upward along the map. Bauer’s group caught up. The nine of them remained silent, cautiously scanning the streets for any sudden appearances of the undead.

Not long after they set out, the sky began to darken.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then led the group to find a secluded apartment block, hiding inside and securely locking the metal door. The zombies in this block—a middle-aged couple and a little girl—had already been killed by Ye Chen upon his entry. In the room, there was another patch of blood, suggesting someone else had likely been devoured by these three before they even had time to fully turn.

The room was somewhat dilapidated, with no water or electricity. Ye Chen picked up a wrinkled blanket and used it to stuff the gaps in the metal door, preventing the scent of blood from escaping when the zombies became active at night and drew an attack.

“Food!” Bai Long’s voice held a hint of excitement. He found a bag of bread in the refrigerator, slightly darkened and crawling with maggots, along with a few bottles of milk and a plate of leftover fish.

“It’s probably inedible,” Mo Feng frowned.

Yue Heng waved a dismissive hand. “Why worry about that? Eat it first, it’s better than starving to death.”

“Yeah!” Bauer and the others nodded in agreement.

Mo Feng scoffed. “If I gave you a bottle of poison, would you drink it too?”

Yue Heng started, looking taken aback. “It couldn’t be that bad, could it?”

Mo Feng glanced at him coldly. “Stupid! Do you think you’re a garbage truck that can digest anything? If that were true, why would we need the Biological Research Association or the Agricultural Club? Do you honestly believe your current physique, your internal immune and digestive systems, can neutralize the toxins in this moldy food? I guarantee you’ll have diarrhea within three minutes of eating it! In severe cases, you’ll fall unconscious immediately…”

Yue Heng fell silent. Bauer and the others, lacking Bai Long’s translation, looked confused, not understanding Mo Feng’s words.

“Then what do we do?” Bai Long asked helplessly.

“We don’t eat it!” Mo Feng stated flatly.

Yue Heng nearly choked him.

Ye Chen finished stuffing the gaps and walked over. He glanced at the spoiled food, paused for a moment, and said, “Everyone, find a rat. We’ll use this to trap rats.”

Yue Heng was startled. “Rats? Isn’t this city infected by the virus?”

Ye Chen nodded. “The mission description states that everyone in the city has become a zombie, which implies that rats and insects have not mutated. This virus is only harmful to humans.”

Yue Heng realized. “No wonder we haven’t seen monstrous ants or anything.”

Bai Long quickly began searching the room for rats.

Ye Chen separated the foul-smelling frozen fish, placing pieces near certain windows and the toilet. He also constructed small covers, designed to drop over the bait the moment a rat dragged the food away.

About an hour later.

Outside, the sky had turned completely dark, and roars began to drift from the streets in the distance. Ye Chen and the others grew tense, moving away from the wall, gripping their weapons and planks tightly.

Snap!

A sound suddenly rang out, startling everyone. Ye Chen turned and saw that a plate had tipped over. His eyes lit up, and he hurried over, cautiously lifting the plate to create a small gap. Soon, a rat’s head poked out, which Ye Chen swiftly skewered with his dagger, ending it with one precise stab.

Afterward, Ye Chen handed the rat to Bai Long. He found some cloth and wrapped it around the edges of the other plates to prevent them from making noise when they covered the bait.

When he returned, he saw seven or eight people clustered around a rat the size of two fingers placed on the table. Everyone’s gaze was intensely hungry; if the rat were still alive, it would surely have died of fright.

Under the sharp dagger, the small rat’s skin was quickly peeled away, leaving it bloody. To prevent the scent of blood from spreading, Ye Chen and the others swiftly cut the rat open, removing the entrails and organs, placing them in a plastic bag, wrapping that in cloth, and then putting it all into a large plastic bag which they tossed outside.

Then, the group divided the rat meat, each receiving a piece the size of a fingertip.

Ye Chen popped his piece into his mouth. The raw, chewy meat released a bloody tang as he chewed, all while wiping his sharp little knife.

With a small piece of rat to settle their stomachs, the gnawing hunger subsided considerably for everyone. Bai Long found a mop and sharpened one end with his small knife, fashioning a potent weapon!

As long as they remained sufficiently calm, their arms steady against the undead, a single spear would be enough to take on a zombie!

Roar~ Roar~~

Outside, roars traveled from the distant streets. Everyone stopped what they were doing, clutching their weapons, staring intently, almost forgetting to breathe. Soon, the sound of footsteps grew louder and more numerous, making their scalps tingle.

Bauer and the others looked rather pale, their bodies trembling slightly. Only when the roaring sounds gradually faded did their complexions improve.

The terrifying roars outside never ceased that night. The group passed the hours in trembling fear until the sounds finally began to recede with the morning light.

No one slept well. After waking up hungry, they checked the street outside. Finding it clear of zombies, they packed their gear—the wooden planks, spears, and firearms—and began to stealthily move toward the city center.

They traveled by day and found shelter by night, surviving by catching small rats and insects. Occasionally, they found canned fish or rice in their lodgings, allowing them a full meal.

Seven days later.

Ye Chen and his group arrived at the Inner Ring Road. As they neared the city center, the number of zombies they encountered increased, forcing everyone to proceed with extreme caution, daring not to rush through.

Over seven days, Ye Chen had killed numerous zombies, accumulating 82 points.

“It’s getting dark,” Ye Chen observed the sky, then turned to survey their surroundings. He quickly spotted a small building and led the group toward it.

Suddenly—

A dark figure flashed past the small building. Ye Chen and the others jumped, aiming their pistols in that direction. But they soon realized the shadow was not a zombie; it was a man in a business suit, expressionless. He saw them, ignored them, produced a gun, took out keys, walked to the basement entrance of the building, opened it, and slipped inside.

Ye Chen considered for a moment, then beckoned, charging forward. He found the basement door unlocked and proceeded with extreme caution, taking each step deliberately.

Soon, Ye Chen and his group reached the basement, locking the heavy iron door behind them. Inside, they saw a room. The man in the suit had removed his jacket and was washing his hands in the kitchen area.

“Who are you?” the man asked coldly without turning around, speaking fluent Russian.

Bai Long translated. Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed. “Are you alone here?”

The man responded coldly, “After tonight, you must all leave tomorrow. I don’t have enough food reserves for this many people.”

Was this an offer of shelter? The group’s expression toward the man softened slightly. Bauer and the man and woman exchanged a look; hidden deep in their eyes, ferocity flared, their gazes fixed on the man’s retreating back, betraying veiled killing intent and greed.

After a brief exchange, Ye Chen’s group moved into the room. The man remained busy in the kitchen, never sparing Ye Chen’s group more than a cold, sullen glance throughout.

Ye Chen observed the room’s arrangement, his eyes flashing. His fingers subtly tightened around his handgun.