“Bang! Bang bang!”
The deafening crash of the wall shattering mixed with the howls of inhuman zombies, making my eardrums ache.
I all but scrambled and crawled into the stairwell leading up, my peripheral vision sweeping over the first floor.
It’s over.
The bottom level was already clogged by a dense mass of the dashing guy (Brother Hao), turning it into a hellish battlefield—the roaring noise almost threatening to tear the roof apart.
I really outsmarted myself this time.
I’d meant to use the Zombie Horde to draw the monster away, but who could’ve guessed that thing was even more of a coward than I’d thought?
The moment it saw the situation, it ran even faster than me!
What’s more, I never expected that Brother Hao’s rampage in the back alley just now had shaken over such a huge “family reunion.”
As soon as the door opened, the scene was lively enough to rival a fan meeting in my honor.
Luckily, these two sides seemed to have a grudge, and the hatred value was off the charts.
The Zombie Horde’s first target was the monster (Brother Hao), not me who was so close by; and the monster’s first target also switched to the zombies.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I looped around, barely dodging the front of the zombie tide, and climbed upward.
The Dead Mall had four floors in total, with an open atrium in the center—the first floor was the largest, while the upper floors were relatively narrow.
The monster not running upstairs was a good thing.
I gasped for breath, stopping abruptly, my back pressed tightly against the cold wall, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.
This kind of exertion was really too much for a sickly person like me.
Only at times like this did I have the chance to curse a little.
Damn it, that thing actually ran first—no sense of brotherhood at all!
I gritted my teeth and cursed under my breath, cold sweat long since soaking through my clothes.
After narrowly escaping with my life, I waited for my breathing to steady a little, forcing myself to calm down as I quickly surveyed the second floor.
By the dim light filtering down through the atrium, what met my eyes was a chaotic clothing section—various styles of fashion strewn all over, mannequin models lying twisted and toppled, looking rather creepy in the gloom.
This also meant there were no proper weapons here, nor any of the medicine or food I desperately needed.
But at least, this area was relatively quiet and, for now, safe.
Most likely, the zombies in this Dead Mall had already been cleaned out by that monster.
Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a flash of movement in an Outdoor Goods Store diagonally across from me!
My heart clenched.
I immediately crouched behind a half-collapsed jewelry display, holding my breath, my hand gripping a broken metal stair rail I’d picked up earlier—my makeshift weapon.
They had obviously noticed me as well.
We stared each other down in silence for a long time.
About ten minutes later, they spoke up first.
“We see you.” A low male voice came from inside the store, steady yet wary.
“Come out and talk. We don’t want trouble, but we’re not afraid of it either.”
I didn’t move.
I just raised my voice slightly, trying to sound as calm as possible, “Just passing by, no ill intent. The floor below is packed with zombies, I just came up to hide for a bit.”
A brief silence followed.
I could feel several gazes landing on where I was hiding.
Then, a slightly gentler female voice spoke, “We’re just hiding here too. Are you alone?”
“There’s another guy outside.” I lied, carefully poking out half my head.
I saw three people standing at the entrance of the Outdoor Goods Store.
A tall, thin man stood in front with a climbing pick in his hand, his gaze sharp.
Behind him to the right stood a short-haired woman of about thirty, gripping a baseball bat.
Furthest back was a young man in a baseball cap, nervously clutching the straps of his backpack.
They all kept their distance, showing no sign of coming closer.
After another bout of silence, the young man couldn’t help but speak up, a tone of disbelief in his voice, “What the heck did you do to attract that many zombies?”
I took a breath and tried to answer in a casual tone, “Oh, they’re all my Brother Hao doing. There’s a BOSS downstairs, so I called them in to back me up.”
“Then can you get your Brother Hao to all scram?!” The young man replied, half-collapsing in frustration and anger.
“Eh, that’s a bit tricky.”
I followed his lead, making up nonsense in a serious tone, “There are a lot of factors to consider. First is my relationship of loyalty with it, then there’s our sense of righteousness, and lastly our shared interests. And, of course, there’s the most important thing—”
I paused and lowered my voice: “I don’t actually know him.”
A moment of silence, and then the young man squeezed out a single word from his throat: “Six.”
The mature man interrupted us, “We’re not here to joke with you. Let’s make a deal.”
“Alright.” I agreed straightforwardly.
The prolonged tension and running had already left my body sending out protests—a wave of dizziness swept over me, and I had to reach out to brace against the cold inner wall of the display, steadying myself.
It seemed this subtle movement didn’t escape their notice.
“You’re hurt?” the female voice asked, with a hint of probing curiosity.
“Old problem,” I replied vaguely, not wanting to expose too many weaknesses.
“Just ran too fast.”
Another bout of silence—it felt like they were weighing up my state and the truth of my words.
I could hear them whispering to each other, but couldn’t make out what they said.
A few seconds later, the woman spoke again, this time with a cautious, almost restrained kindness: “We have some basic supplies—water and a bit of food. We can share some with you.”
Her words gave me a slight jolt.
In these times, sharing supplies was almost unimaginable.
This sudden kindness only made me more wary.
Actually, I wasn’t desperate for supplies.
My plan was to use the excuse of supplies to approach them—and I guessed they had a similar idea.
“Your terms?” I asked directly.
“Information,” the man replied, just as crisply.
“Tell us what happened downstairs, what you know about that unusual thing down there, the Zombie Horde’s movements. Also, until we’re sure you’re not a threat, you’ll have to keep your distance.”
Fair enough—remarkably reasonable, in fact.
In these end times, it was rare to see such rationality and boundaries.
I took a deep breath, suppressing the metallic taste rising in my throat, “Deal.”
“Good.” The woman answered, “We’ll put the stuff in the middle of the open area. You, come out slowly where we can see your hands—don’t try anything.”
“No problem.”
Then I heard soft footsteps.
The young man in the baseball cap peeked carefully from the shop’s entrance, set a small plastic bag down in the empty space between our stores, flashed me a strange smile, and quickly retreated.
I gripped the metal pipe, slowly stood up from behind the display—my legs were numb from crouching so long, and my vision darkened again.
I forced myself to stay upright, spreading my hands to show I had no weapon.
In reality, the metal pipe was tucked in my waistband at the back.
The three figures at the store entrance became clearly visible.
Our gazes crossed in the air, full of scrutiny, calculation, and mutual sizing up.
“Now,” the man spoke, his eyes falling on my pale face, “Tell us about downstairs. What exactly is that thing?”
Leaning against the counter to help support my weight, the burning pain in my lungs reminded me to conserve my strength.
“That thing…” I started, breathing heavily, “is a lot stronger. Its claws are sharper. And it’s a coward—it picks on the weak and flees the strong.”
Thinking of how decisively it abandoned me, I added, “Definitely doesn’t pity the weak.”
“It’s intelligent?” The woman frowned.
“At least smart enough to weigh the pros and cons.” I confirmed, watching their reactions closely.
The young man was visibly more nervous, while the man and woman exchanged a grim look.
“How’s the fight going?” the man pressed.
“It ran away with me.”
“It ran away with you?”
“No,” I tugged at the corner of my mouth, “It ran faster than me.”
“So it’s another one of your Brother Hao?” the young man couldn’t help but interject.
“No, not Brother Hao,” I looked at him and blinked, “It’s Li Qing.”
“Who’s Li Qing?” The woman was baffled.
“A jungler from a game,” the young man answered instinctively, then paused, realizing, “You mean… that monster’s blind?”
“Wow, quite knowledgeable.” I nodded slightly.
“Thanks for sharing the information,” the man said, pulling the topic back, his gaze sharp.
“Now about the zombies—did you lead them in?”
“Probably not.”
“But before you came, there weren’t any zombies downstairs.”
“That monster broke a wall,” I met his gaze.
“Maybe that loud noise invited those unwelcome guests for us.”
“Then why did it break the wall?”
“Well, that was my doing.”