"Bang…"
Suddenly, a familiar crashing sound came from the front door, shaking the dishes on the table. The group, who were busy eating, immediately froze in shock and looked towards the door. Thomas Xu almost choked, gulping down several sips of mineral water to calm himself, then hurriedly said, "Oh no, it must be that fat guy chasing us! Stop eating, let's get out of here quickly!"
Escaping is naturally more important than eating. A group of people threw down their food and hurriedly began to flee. Familiar with the terrain, Yue Yunfei rushed ahead to lead the way, while the newly appointed leader, Thomas Xu, held the rear. Sometimes, that's how people are; once they have a sense of mission on their shoulders, their mindset changes immediately, especially when lives are at stake.
Exiting the Western restaurant, they found themselves in a spacious corridor lined with European-style tiles. On both sides, there were four elevators with steel doors tightly closed. Yue Yunfei switched on his flashlight and dashed straight down the corridor. This corridor was shaped like a "工" character; passing through the middle area led to a long hallway that had no windows at all. The surroundings were not only pitch black but also felt incredibly deep, evoking an involuntary sense of dread.
The main entrance to the office area was not located in the corridor where they were, and to prevent guests from accidentally wandering into the office area, the entrance was deliberately set in a more secluded position. They had to pass through the corridor in front of them, turn a corner, and go all the way to the end, passing by a goods warehouse along the way.
Upon reaching the dark corridor, everyone unconsciously slowed their pace. The exquisite wallpaper and murals that were once everywhere had vanished, replaced by the most ordinary white walls. Even the ceiling had been removed, leaving exposed water and electrical pipes as well as ventilation ducts crisscrossing above their heads, making them feel even less secure.
It was clear that Yue Yunfei and the others had not been in this area for a long time. Apart from a few cobwebs, there were no faint footprints on the deep red carpet. But thinking about it, it made sense; unless someone was acting irrationally, who would run around in such a pitch-black, ghostly place!
"Shh…"
Just after turning a corner, Yue Yunfei suddenly stopped in his tracks, nearly causing Gao Chujing, who was following him, to bump into him. Gao Chujing curiously peeked over his shoulder but immediately recoiled and covered his mouth, as a grayish figure was aimlessly wandering in the corridor, scratching here and there. Even in the dim light, Gao Chujing could guess with his toes that it was undoubtedly a living corpse.
"How could there be a living corpse here?" Gao Chujing whispered, his voice trembling like a frightened cat.
"I don't know!" Yue Yunfei's expression was also serious as he slowly shook his head. He then raised the gun in his hand, steadily aiming the mechanical sight at the living corpse. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Thomas Xu pressed down on him urgently and said, "Don't use the gun!"
As he spoke, Thomas Xu stepped forward and flashed his flashlight in the living corpse's eyes. The living corpse immediately sensed something unusual and charged over with a roar. However, dealing with a lone living corpse was a piece of cake for these men. Thomas Xu simply stood still, and when the living corpse was about to pounce, he suddenly raised the gun and slammed it hard against the creature's face. The living corpse fell backward with a thud, and Thomas Xu followed up with a kick that broke its neck, rendering it completely motionless.
"There's a living corpse in the office!" Thomas Xu looked up, his face pale, and pointed to a glass door at the end of the corridor. The morning sunlight streamed in from there, casting light on the carpet, where several elongated shadows were slowly moving in the bright area, clearly indicating that there were living corpses inside.
"Damn it, it must be the zombie from the third floor that fell down! There's a sunroom for leisure in the office area, and the roof has been broken for a long time. It must have been the zombie from the pool that fell down from above!" Yue Yunfei immediately thought of the only possibility. He cursed with a grim expression while holding the gun: "Fucking hell, how can I be so unlucky!"
"Hold on, let me take a look. If there aren't too many zombies, we still have a chance!" Thomas Xu patted Yue Yunfei's arm and cautiously turned to walk towards the office area. As he got closer to the door, a sound like "chomp chomp," reminiscent of someone eating a watermelon, immediately reached his ears. He was momentarily stunned, then pressed against the wall and cautiously peeked inside. The next second, his face turned pale; the creature gnawing on the head of a zombie on the ground was none other than that ghastly thing, the Hunter!
"Run! Quick, run!" Thomas Xu hurriedly jogged back to the others, waving his hands frantically and speaking with great difficulty, "The Hunter's that ghastly thing is inside!"
"What?" Yue Yunfei instinctively raised his voice. After realizing the situation, he quickly glanced at the office door and, seeing that it hadn't attracted the Hunter's attention, he hurriedly said, "Where else can we go? There are only two exits; one is the staircase we just came up from, and the other is definitely blocked by zombies!"
"Where does this path lead?" Thomas Xu looked around and pointed his flashlight at another corridor.
"The structure here is a loop; any path can lead to the exit and the western restaurant. This path is closest to the staircase you came from yesterday!" Yue Yunfei said without hesitation.
"Then let's go. This is the only path left; at least there are no fat dead pigs or Hunters there!" Thomas Xu looked at Yue Yunfei with a blank expression, tightened his grip on the gun, and decisively said, "Whether we live or die depends on this time; let's fight!"
Immediately, a tense atmosphere filled the scene. When it comes to fighting for their lives, it always stirs a person's blood, making it boil with excitement, yet also instilling fear. These two extreme emotions spread in everyone's hearts, including Thomas Xu and Yue Yunfei. Each person's neck was covered with a layer of goosebumps, and if one listened closely, the frequency of their heartbeats was almost astonishingly synchronized, and it was getting faster and faster!
"You all go ahead; I can't go on!" Ding Jie suddenly waved her right hand without warning, weakly leaning against the wall behind her, and slowly slid down to the ground. She looked pale as she surveyed the group and said softly, "Can someone give me a knife or a gun? Living like this only drags you down; it's really meaningless to continue like this!"
Everyone looked at Ding Jie, whose emotions had plummeted to a low point, and suddenly felt something stuck in their throats, a discomfort that was hard to bear. It was a feeling of wanting to offer comfort but not knowing how to express it. In fact, all the people present had thought about seeking a quick end, to simply resolve everything in one go. But no one had truly taken that step; no one had the courage to do so!