Some zombies still retained a bit of human appearance, but their bloodied teeth, cataract-clouded eyes with a greenish hue, and skeletal bodies with exposed organs had long since removed them from the realm of humanity.

Rasping, incomprehensible roars spread gradually from the zombie crowd, each one sending chills down their spines.

Yu Sen squinted, raised his crossbow, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

A faint ‘thwip’ sound followed as the bolt cleanly entered the brain of the nearest zombie.

He watched as the zombie fell, pursing his lips. The sound and sensation of the arrow piercing flesh seemed to linger in his mind, making him uncomfortable.

Fortunately, although their car looked run-down, it was at least armored. It plowed through the zombies, and although Yu Sen’s head was spinning, Si Nan’s driving skills were impressive, and the number of zombies following them decreased.

“This broken city looks huge. We need a map, or we’ll be like headless chickens!” Yu Sen said.

Si Xuanyang tensed up, quickly scanning the streets, and pointed: “There’s a convenience store over there. Let’s check it out.”

Si Nan floored the accelerator, smashing a yellow pickup truck out of alignment to block the street, briefly hindering the ‘hungry wolves’ behind them.

The car skidded and screeched to a stop in front of the convenience store. After the harsh friction noise, Yu Sen quickly pressed the door button, opened the door, and rushed out.

Fortunately, the convenience store’s glass doors were intact. Yu Sen, holding his crossbow, cautiously checked every blind spot in the store and found no zombies inside.

While he was inspecting the store, Si Xuanyang and Si Nan used newspapers and glue to cover the front glass of the store, blocking the zombies’ view.

Without a target, the outside gradually quieted down amidst eerie screams, and the zombies on the street continued their slow, dragging walk.

“Oh my god! Just like in Resident Evil!” Si Nan gasped for breath, leaning on his knees. “I need chemical enhancements; physical weapons are useless. Why is that clock so stingy?”

“Let’s be grateful we have weapons. I saw many people in the factory who were alone and had only one vehicle, without even a folding knife. How are they supposed to fight zombies? Are they supposed to bite each other?” Si Xuanyang said irritably, taking a few swigs of water.

Yu Sen tore open a Snickers bar, took a few bites, and noticed… well, it was expired!

It had been five months past the expiration date!

He searched around, finding most of the packaged food past its shelf life, with only a few items still barely edible.

He sighed: “It looks like most people in this city have turned into zombies.”

“Why?”

“Look at the food,” Yu Sen tapped on a can of pork on the shelf. “Convenient foods like these haven’t been snatched up, so the city must have fallen early on. No need to steal.”

“Found it! There really is one!” Si Nan excitedly raised his hand from a pile of magazines, waving a yellowed piece of paper. “A map!”

Yu Sen’s eyes brightened slightly: “Let’s spread it out and take a look.”

Taking the map from Si Nan, made of parchment, Yu Sen spread it out on the ground, and the three of them gathered around.

In the center were the dark red words ‘Fengdu Map Collection,’ resembling dried bloodstains, giving off a chilling feeling.

Yu Sen tilted his head back slightly and chuckled: “This is a ghost city, but it’s not much different from a real one.”

“We’re probably still around the fourth ring,” Yu Sen traced a spot on the map with his slender fingers, which seemed to glow faintly.

Si Xuanyang moved his gaze to the center of the map, tapping his index finger on it: “The destination is here, Eternal Life Technology Company.”

“That’s quite a distance…” Yu Sen scratched his chin. “There are too many obstacles on the ground. It would be great if we could take the subway.”

Si Xuanyang glanced at him and said, “You’re really naive. Why don’t you just have the zombies fly you to the top-floor laboratory in a helicopter?”

Yu Sen threw him a flirtatious look, “If the zombies are willing, I wouldn’t mind sacrificing a bit of my charm.”

Si Xuanyang’s eye twitched twice, and he looked at the seemingly expressionless Si Nan with a strange gaze. He sneered, thinking he didn’t need to worry about his brother and in-law’s jealousy. They seemed to be following their own unconventional path and could even be mutually unfaithful.

Even zombies aren’t spared! Are zombies now just tools to heat up your relationship!?

Yu Sen looked at Si Xuanyang’s rigid expression, grinned, glanced at the map again, and mentally traced the major landmarks with his eyes closed. He then remembered the cars and broken bridges outside and couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“The city center will have more zombies and cars, so driving probably won’t work.”

“Let’s take it step by step,” Si Nan said, “We’ll see how far we can drive. The closer we get to the target, the better. If we can’t make it, we’ll take another route.”

After spending the noon with some non-expired snacks and compressed biscuits from the convenience store, the sun outside was scorching hot.

It felt like being in a high-temperature oven. The entire city’s surface was writhing with heat waves, the smell of burnt plastic rising slowly, mixed with the stench of rotting corpses, making it suffocating within just a few minutes.

Yu Sen rubbed his temples, feeling nauseous. Fortunately, he hadn’t eaten anything meaty earlier, or he might have vomited uncontrollably.

“This place is truly uninhabitable. Why are we so unlucky, encountering such unscientific things…” Si Nan sighed.

“Isn’t it your fault?” Si Xuanyang rolled his eyes, “When we get back, I’m going to smash your clock!”

Si Nan’s face turned pale, realizing he was in the wrong, and forced a sheepish smile.

But would smashing the clock really end this? Yu Sen thought about what the strange person in the factory had said; it probably wouldn’t be that simple.

“Studying the map here won’t get us anywhere,” Yu Sen said. “Let’s rest for another half hour, then head out.”

Si Xuanyang and Si Nan had no objections. However, before they could rest enough, they heard noises getting closer outside the convenience store’s glass door.

Yu Sen’s heart tightened. He stood up cautiously, lifted a corner of the newspaper stuck to the door to look outside. Si Xuanyang, holding an axe, followed behind him cautiously.

“Shit!”

Yu Sen’s pupils dilated suddenly—the black SUV outside was charging like a wild horse, madly heading towards the glass door.

In a place like this, a moving vehicle was like fresh roasted meat, always followed by a large group of snarling ‘mad dogs’—zombies—filling the entire street.

“Encountering a pig player really adds insult to injury for our already struggling family!”

Yu Sen mumbled and quickly pulled Si Xuanyang back, shouting at Si Nan, “Go upstairs!”

“Why—ahhhhh!”

Before Si Nan could finish his sentence, with a loud crash, the convenience store’s glass door shattered like his fragile heart, the SUV barreling in like a scene from a blockbuster, smashing into the counter and emitting thick smoke, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

The convenience store was on the first floor of the building. When they took refuge, they had checked that the back door’s safety passage could lead directly upstairs.

Initially, they had closed the back door because they didn’t know what the situation upstairs was. There was no benefit in rashly going up.

But now, the SUV had wrecked their shabby car and attracted a large number of clawing, grotesque zombies into the store, with a massive crowd at the entrance. It was impossible to break through the encirclement.

Yu Sen decisively kicked open the back door, ran ahead with a crossbow, followed by Si Nan, and Si Xuanyang, wielding an axe, covering their backs.

As they reached the second floor, they heard the piercing screams from below, probably from the people in the SUV.

Yu Sen glanced down. The back door had been opened again, and a woman in a green dress stumbled in, her hair disheveled, her dress torn to shreds, her pale skin covered in countless scratches and wounds, in a pitiful state.

Behind her was a large group of zombies, attracted by the smell of flesh and going mad.

“Help—! Save me—!”

Yu Sen squinted, his gaze meeting Si Xuanyang’s amber eyes. Yu Sen raised an eyebrow, threw a comment about not meddling, and turned to head upstairs.

Si Xuanyang glanced at the woman again, a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. He bit his lip hard and followed, heading upstairs.

Survival instinct was strong in everyone. Even though the woman in the green dress had already been clawed and bitten by zombies, she wouldn’t willingly become their meal, desperately climbing up the stairs with all her might.

The narrow stairwell shook with the surge of zombies, like a wild death party.

As if in response, Yu Sen could already hear the spine-chilling screams coming from some floors.

“There are zombies upstairs too, so be careful! Si Si, why didn’t you grab a useful weapon when you had the chance? Did you come on a spring outing, baby?”

“Where would I find weapons in a convenience store? Do you think this is a film set?” Si Nan rolled his eyes, pulling his hands into his clothes, afraid of getting caught. “The only dangerous thing in the store was a razor!”

“Well, you could’ve at least grabbed some soap to use as bricks.”

Just as Yu Sen finished joking, a pale face suddenly appeared at the dark stairwell on the ninth floor, staring directly at him, with a bloody eyeball half hanging out and half of its body rotting.

“Shit, that gave me a scare! It’s even more eye-watering than Si Si!”

Yu Sen hissed, raised his crossbow, and shot through the zombie’s head, pinning it directly to the wall.