Screams echoed through the streets.
A few disheveled people huddled inside a warehouse, holding their breath, straining to hear any sounds outside.
When it finally quieted down, they let out a sigh of relief, slumping to the ground, gasping for air.
"What do we do? We can't get out… I don't want to die."
A weak sob broke the silence, barely above a whisper, as if even crying too loudly might draw something terrible to their door.
The group sat in a daze.
"Shut up!"
A man growled under his breath, "If you make another sound, I'll throw you out myself!"
The person immediately fell silent, staring around in fear, terrified someone might actually do it.
In the thick, oppressive silence, faint footsteps echoed—each step thudding like a strike on their hearts.
Jhon quickly dropped to the floor, peeking out through the gap under the door. The street outside was littered with debris, eerily desolate.
No one in sight.
But the footsteps were getting louder.
"Who's there?!"
Panic spread through the group as they looked around wildly but saw nothing.
The warehouse wasn't big—just over three meters tall, empty and bare. If there was anything here before, it had long been looted.
Seeing nothing was somehow more terrifying than seeing something.
"Get up, now!"
Just as those words left his mouth, the warehouse door was hit hard from outside.
Everyone instinctively backed away, despair all over their faces.
Jhon shouted angrily, "If you don't want to die, help me hold the door! The rest of you—find another way out!"
The banging outside was too loud. If it went on, it would definitely draw the zombies. Then they'd all die here.
Driven by fear, the group snapped into action.
"Damn it! This is all Shawn's fault!!"
Jhon cursed, pressing his back hard against the door, his face twisted with rage. "Have you found anything yet?!"
"There! Jhon, there's a small window over there. We can crawl through to the next building's roof!" one of them called, running over. "Hurry! The door won't hold much longer!"
The others let go of the door and ran. The door immediately cracked open a few inches.
The zombies outside caught the scent of humans and went berserk.
Their roars were deafening, their stiff, blue-tinged arms reaching through the gap.
Jhon jumped aside, glared at the door, then turned and ran.
The others had already squeezed through the window.
"You go first," Jhon told the man beside him, glancing at the door again.
Sanny felt a rush of emotion. Without hesitating, he started crawling through the window.
Just as his head popped through, the door behind them gave way with a crash.
He scrambled to pull himself out and tried to reach for Jhon—but his body was yanked back and thrown to the ground.
"Jhon…"
Jhon shot through the window and turned to coldly watch Sanny, frozen in shock. "Sanny, do me a favor—hold them off for a bit."
Sanny's heart skipped. He turned and saw a horde of zombies pouring through the broken door, surging straight at him.
"No!!! Jhon!! Don't leave me!!"
Sanny scrambled, trying to climb out, but the window slammed shut in his face.
Jhon stuffed debris into it, blocking it, then walked away without looking back.
"Ah…!"
His screams, mixed with the wet, tearing sounds of flesh being eaten, slowly faded into the wind.
On a distant high-rise, a man watched the scene with a cold smirk.
Typical move.
A gust of wind whipped a tattered red banner past him, bloodstains clearly visible as it flew by. The man's figure vanished.
Chloe rubbed her slightly bulging belly, too tired to walk any further, and collapsed onto a couch.
She was in a downtown shopping mall/her temporary shelter. From the number of zombies roaming outside, it must've been bustling once.
"So sleepy."
She yawned, eyes tearing up from the exhaustion, her body relaxing.
Just as she was about to drift off, gunshots rang out outside. She jolted upright, instinctively ducking into a corner, peeking out carefully.
She was delicate and soft/any scrape or injury could be serious for her.
The gunfire came in bursts, mixed with screams of fear and desperate cries for help.
The zombies, who'd been aimlessly shuffling, suddenly stirred and surged toward the noise like they'd found treasure.
Chloe shrank back further, then followed the crowd out of curiosity.
Jhon stared grimly at the people with him.
Most of his team was gone. Even if he made it back to the base alive, he'd lost too much power.
If it weren't for dealing with Shawn, he wouldn't have sacrificed them all like this.
The more he thought about it, the heavier the anger in his chest. He shouldn't have just left Shawn.
"Jhon, we need to quickly find a car…" one of the men who still had some strength left said to Jhon. "There are too many zombies here."
Several of them had lost too much energy, their powers completely drained. They couldn't possibly escape on foot.
Jhon looked around. "There's a 4S dealership next door. Let's go check it out."
The group staggered and ran in that direction.
Chloe watched from a distance. When she saw where they were headed, she raised her eyebrows slightly and thought they probably wouldn't be coming back.
That dealership had a bunch of sales managers inside. In the past, they'd chase you to sell a car. Now, they'd probably just take your life.
Sure enough, before long, screams and sharp cries echoed from that direction.
Chloe dug in her ear and sighed silently. Humanity just lost a few more people.
Don't blame her for not saving anyone. Reality had taught her harsh lessons.
The cruelty of people in this world had no limits. That's why she preferred wandering with zombies rather than living in one of those human bases.
There was also a voice inside her, always telling her to stay far away from people. Because of that, she instinctively avoided others.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, panicked footsteps came from the other side. Chloe immediately hid.
A man, looking like a mess, ran out while holding his arm.
Jhon clutched his right hand tightly over the place where his left arm had been cut off. Blood kept pouring out, and he tried to stop it by wrapping it with his shirt.
Damn it. The dealership looked like it didn't have many zombies, but suddenly a whole group burst out. Worse, none of the cars worked.
His team had been wiped out. He threw one of his men behind as bait and barely escaped, only to be bitten on the side.
He didn't hesitate and immediately cut off his arm.
But the scent of blood was in the air, and a horde of zombies followed behind. He couldn't escape.
Despair and fear were written all over his face.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him.
Just one glance, and Jhon's eyes went wide with rage.
"You! You're still alive!! Shawn!!"
Shawn raised his eyebrows slightly and waved his hand. The zombies chasing Jhon collapsed instantly.
Wind blades sliced the zombies in half. The stench didn't even have time to spread before it was swept away.
Chloe curled up even tighter, closing her eyes and pretending she didn't exist.
This man was terrifying.
"Looks like you're disappointed, huh?"
Shawn looked down at the man lying on the ground, pale from blood loss, his eyes cold and emotionless.
Jhon forced a weak, flattering smile. "N-no, I'm just… too surprised. Shawn, help me."
He didn't want to die. Especially not like this.
Shawn didn't move. He just stood there, silently watching Jhon struggle to stay alive.
Jhon panicked even more. The blood loss was making him dizzy. "Shawn… Shawn, please save me. I can't hold on."
"Jhon, I already gave you a choice."
Back then, when Shawn pretended to be injured, the result was exactly what he expected.
"How much did they offer you to make you attack me like that?"
It finally hit Jhon. He was really going to die here.
All the fear and hopelessness broke through the fake face he'd been putting on.
"Shawn! Do you think you'll end up any better?! The people at the top of the base already hate you. It's because of your arrogance. You really think you can go against the entire base by yourself?!"
Jhon screamed, his voice filled with anger. "If I die, you won't live long either!"
"That's not your concern." Shawn smiled slightly and looked over at the next wave of zombies in the distance. "You should be more worried about yourself."
Jhon saw them too. His eyes shook. "Shawn, Shawn, I'm sorry. I'll do anything. I'll be your servant. For the sake of our past, just save me this one time. I promise I'll stay far away from you afterward."
But this time, Shawn didn't lift a finger.
He turned around and walked away, never looking back.
Jhon's screams and curses echoed behind him.
Chloe stayed hidden for a long time. Her legs had gone numb before she finally moved and peeked out.
All that remained was blood, torn clothing, and a few zombies lazily wandering away.
Chloe ran up quickly. She had waited here not just to watch but for something important — the gun that man had.
She found it under the bloodied, ruined clothes.
Chloe was thrilled. Even the stinky zombies nearby couldn't ruin her mood.
She bounced on her feet a little, raised the gun, aimed at a nearby zombie, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Her smile vanished instantly. He had used it so well earlier — why wasn't it working now?
The joy of having a gun faded. Without bullets, it was useless junk.
"What's going on?"
"No bullets."
"Oh… so it's just out of bullets. Thanks."
Chloe casually thanked him as she tossed the gun up and down in her hand.
"You're welcome."
Suddenly, her body froze. Like a broken machine, she slowly turned around and stared at the man standing less than five meters away.
Her pupils shrank.