Zixin knew it would be difficult to deal with this many zombies. He quickly glanced back and saw Bao climbing over the wall toward the neighboring terrace, Lin Jing safely held in his arms.
"Come quick!" bao shouted.
He shoved the zombie closest to him away and quickly jumped over the low wall. Landing on the neighboring terrace, he immediately ran into the apartment after Bao and Lin Jing.
Thankfully, the stairway here was not nearly as crowded as the one in his own building. A few zombies had already made their way inside, but Zixin quickly dealt with them, swinging his weapon and clearing the path ahead.
"Ge! An aunty lives here!" Lin Jing suddenly shouted, pointing toward one of the doors.
"We don't have time, Jing," Zixin mumbled, continuing down the hallway in a hurry. The sound of zombies could already be heard from the neighboring building, and he knew they would not have much time before this building was overrun too.
"But we can save her. She is alone and she is scared…" Lin Jing pleaded, hugging Bao's neck tightly. He looked toward Zixin with watery eyes. "Can't we, please…?"
Zixin stopped for a second.
He glanced toward the door Lin Jing had pointed out.
They were the reason the zombies had been able to infiltrate this building. If they simply left, the old woman inside would be trapped once the zombies reached this floor.
Zixin gritted his teeth.
"Damn it…"
He turned around and rushed toward the apartment. "Fine. We'll get her out before those crazy zombies fill this place too."
He reached the door and pushed it open.
"Aunty!" Lin Jing called out immediately.
There was no answer.
Zixin stepped inside cautiously, his weapon raised as he scanned the quiet apartment. Unlike the chaos outside, the rooms were strangely still. There were no overturned chairs, no broken windows, and no signs of a struggle.
"Aunty?" Lin Jing called again.
Zixin's eyes moved through the room until they finally stopped.
His entire body stiffened.
A rope hung from the ceiling, and at the end of it was the old woman Lin Jing had been talking about.
She was hanging motionless.
Her feet were several inches above the floor, her body completely still. There was no sign of life left in her.
Zixin stared at her for a moment, unable to speak.
She had taken her own life before the zombies could reach her.
Lin Jing's small face slowly changed when he realized what he was seeing. He clung tighter to Bao, his voice trembling.
"Aunty…?"
Zixin swallowed hard and lowered his weapon.
They were already too late.
"Come on, we gotta go." Zixin grabbed Bao and dragged him out of the apartment, but the moment they stepped into the hallway, they realized they were already too late.
Multiple zombies had made their way down from the upper floors and were rushing toward them. Their heavy footsteps thundered through the corridor as they stumbled and lunged forward, rapidly closing the distance.
"Get inside!"
Zixin quickly shoved everyone back into the apartment and slammed the door shut behind them. Almost immediately, the zombies outside crashed into it. The entire door shook violently under their combined weight, the wood creaking as more bodies pushed against it from the other side.
Thankfully, this apartment had both a normal wooden door and an iron grill gate. Zixin quickly secured both, knowing the wooden door alone would never be able to withstand the force of so many evolved zombies pressing against it.
He stood there for a moment, gritting his teeth as the door continued to tremble behind him. Then he glanced at Bao, who was standing nearby with Lin Jing in his arms.
"When is this going to end…?"
Bathed in the strange red hue spilling through the windows, Bao simply stared back at him with a look of pity.
"It's just the beginning…"
"Fuck…" Zixin grabbed his hair in frustration.
Why the hell was all of this happening?
Who was orchestrating this?
There had to be someone behind it. Bao knew too many things. He had known about the red lights, the zombies evolving, and even the things that Zixin himself didn't understand.
And then there was that woman.
The woman who had given him the egg.
Zixin suddenly grabbed Bao by the arms and pulled him closer. "Is this all because of that woman? She was the one who gave you to me." His grip tightened. "Tell me right now, Bao. What the fuck does she want?"
Bao hesitantly opened his mouth.
"It's…it's because…"
But the rest of the words never came out.
He blinked in confusion and tried again, only to find that his voice simply wouldn't work. It was as though someone had reached inside his throat and switched him off. Bao touched his own throat in bewilderment, his ruby-red eyes widening.
"You really can't say it…" Zixin slowly backed away, staring at him.
He finally understood.
"There really is a higher power stopping you." He let out a frustrated breath. "Fuck. All this time, I thought you were just trying to be mysterious and shit…"
Before Bao could respond, a loud dong suddenly rang inside Zixin's mind.
{Unknown being Bao has committed a sin… Punishment should will be handed out, hehe…}
Zixin froze.
Another mechanical notification followed.
{Calculating the amount of sin…}
"What the hell…?" Zixin stared at Bao.
Bao's eyes had widened as well, and he looked just as confused.
{Sins calculated to be Level 3. Punishment regressing to basic level!}
A sudden silver light enveloped Bao.
"Bao?!"
In the next second, the light vanished, and Lin Jing landed safely on the floor while a small white snake dropped beside him.
The tiny snake had ruby-red eyes.
It immediately began wriggling across the floor, its thin tail flicking irritably.
"Oh my god, I can't believe this…" Bao's voice came from the little snake as he gazed down at his own body. He twisted around, staring at his wiggling tail in disbelief. "This is why I told you I can't say!"
His frustration was almost comical as he slapped the floor with his thin tail.
Zixin stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"I didn't realize you would actually get punished…" He bent down and picked up Lin Jing first, then carefully scooped up the little snake. "Sorry."
Bao curled up in his hands, his tiny ruby-red eyes glaring up at him.