The next day, everyone got up early, except for me.
After recovering from her cold, Zheng Rongrong was in high spirits.
She ran into my room, pinching my nose and mouth, and finally managed to wake me up from my dream once again.
It was probably because Yangyang told her last night about us going out today.
After breakfast, Rongrong ran to Shen Xue, who, like her, didn't need to go out, and obediently said goodbye to us.
Shen Feng promised to bring her back some chocolate, and upon hearing that, she smiled so widely her eyes disappeared...
How much weight has this kid gained?
Before heading out, Suo Tian specifically reminded us to be careful not to be seen by Li Jianguo's group.
I understood his point, to prevent them from seeing us and getting any bad ideas.
It would be troublesome if something unnecessary happened.
We still walked through that alley, and just like usual, there were no obstacles, and we passed through smoothly.
The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.
Mei Jing and Suo Tian were in one car, while Shen Feng, Yangyang, and I were in the other.
Since it was Mei Jing's first time going out, it was safest for her to stay close to Suo Tian.
On the way, Yangyang kept giving me strange looks, which made me feel uneasy.
I finally couldn't resist and asked, "What are you staring at?"
"Nothing." When he realized I noticed, Yangyang turned his face away, straightened up, and looked like he was deep in thought.
"What's wrong with this kid?" I was a little confused by his behavior.
Shen Feng, who was driving, glanced at me and chuckled, saying, "Probably thinking about something unpleasant."
We had already visited this mall several times, and knowing that the number of walkers outside had decreased, the atmosphere in the car was much less tense than before.
Mei Jing was mentally strong, but when she first got out of the car, she hesitated and stayed behind Suo Tian.
After seeing us take down a few walkers at the entrance of the mall, her courage started to grow.
Gradually, she was able to give us clear directions.
Once we confirmed that the mall was relatively safe, we began walking toward the interior, following the shelves.
The manager's office was at the far end.
From a distance, I could see the door to the manager's office was half open, with dark bloodstains all over it.
A few flies were buzzing around the bloodstains in a chaotic manner.
This is bad! Could someone have already come here to look for the warehouse key?
I glanced at Suo Tian, giving him a questioning look.
Suo Tian subtly shook his head, signaling me to stay calm, then placed a finger over his lips, signaling for silence.
This time, he didn't use any hand gestures, probably because he was concerned that Mei Jing wouldn't understand them.
Suo Tian and I tightened our grips on our weapon, moving as quietly as possible toward the manager's office.
When we were only a few steps away, we heard a low growl from inside.
I could feel that, except for Suo Tian, everyone else's breathing had stopped.
Suo Tian turned back, furrowing his brow, and made a series of complex hand gestures.
The hand gestures meant that Yangyang and Mei Jing should retreat to the doorway and keep an eye out for any movements around them.
The rest of us three would lure the walkers inside out before taking action.
After all, the manager's office couldn't be that big.
If we rushed in recklessly and couldn't swing our weapon properly, we'd be surrounded by walkers, and that wouldn't be something to play around with.
Mei Jing didn't understand at first, but after Yangyang pulled her towards the door, her face lit up with realization.
Once Yangyang and Mei Jing had disappeared behind the shelves, and we confirmed they had moved far enough away, Suo Tian glanced at me and Shen Feng, signaling us to get ready.
Shen Feng and I moved back two steps behind Suo Tian.
This way, we could keep an eye on the surrounding environment.
We tightened our grips on the weapon, always ready for a fight!
Suo Tian leaned against the side wall, extending his blade and lightly tapping the half-open door to the manager's office.
The sound was very faint, but in the now silent mall, aside from us, it was quite loud.
Sure enough, the walkers inside noticed the sound near the door and began shambling toward it, letting out a gurgling growl, like something caught in their throats.
Suo Tian gripped his blade with both hands, facing the door sideways.
From his position, he was out of sight from the walkers coming out of the room.
Shen Feng and I raised our daggers, moving a few steps back and positioning ourselves directly in front of the manager's door.
This way, the walkers would be drawn to us first, making it easier for Suo Tian to sneak attack.
Two seconds later, the first walker emerged from the door.
It was tall and imposing, though its body was already decaying.
Its chin and lips had rotted away, exposing black, grimy teeth, which it bared in a sinister snarl.
Sure enough, its greedy eyes locked onto me and Shen Feng, completely oblivious to Suo Tian, who was standing by the wall.
The walker staggered toward us, reaching out its hand, but before it could take two steps, Suo Tian swiftly swung his blade, slicing off half of its head.
Caught off guard, I didn't manage to avoid it in time, and the black brain matter and decaying flesh that spurted from the rotten head splattered all over me.
A strong stench filled my nose.
It was so overwhelming that I almost gagged right there.
But reality didn't give me that chance.
After the large walker was taken down, several more staggered out of the door, tumbling one after another.
Suo Tian, leaning against the wall, could only target the last walker that emerged to avoid being noticed.
Shen Feng and I exchanged a quick glance, and then we spread out on either side.
But soon, I couldn't help but curse loudly!
What the hell was wrong with these damn things?
Am I made of meat or something? Why the hell is every one of them coming straight at me?
With my dagger in hand, I slowly retreated.
These walkers were too close.
I couldn't take the risk of charging in.
Suo Tian had probably finished off the walkers at the back and quickly joined Shen Feng to follow up from behind.
To prevent the walkers from noticing them, I raised my voice and called out with a raspy tone, "Hey~ you ugly monsters, walking so slowly and still thinking about fresh meat? Hurry up, my neck's already cleaned up and waiting for you to nibble."
Suo Tian and Shen Feng were already close, and in an instant, both of them swung their weapon, aiming at the two slowest walkers' heads!
This time, I was smarter.
I quickly stepped back a few paces in advance to avoid getting splattered by those disgusting creatures again.
With Suo Tian and Shen Feng leading the charge, I no longer had any concerns.
Gripping my dagger tightly, I rushed toward the lead walker, an old woman.
This walker had clearly been very old when she was turned, hunched over, and ridiculously short.
I easily plunged the dagger into her head!
She had been screaming loudly, but the moment the dagger pierced her brain, her voice stopped.
As Suo Tian and Shen Feng were held back by the other walkers, I managed to take down the old woman.
However, just as I did, a golden-haired female walker, wearing ridiculous high heels, pounced on me.
I didn't have time to pull the dagger out when she knocked me to the ground.
Pinned beneath that stinking, overweight woman, my head rang, and everything in an instant felt like it exploded.
If there had been a mirror at that moment, my face would have changed color instantly.
The fat woman was screeching loudly, her rancid mouth open wide, moving toward my neck to bite down.
I instinctively grabbed the sides of her face with both hands that weren't pinned down, pulling back with all my strength.
The fat woman, clearly having not fed for a long time, screamed desperately, using all her power to bring her massive mouth closer to my neck.
I gritted my teeth, not daring to lose focus.
I held her face tightly, but the fat woman was unbelievably strong.
Gradually, I felt myself losing strength.
Moreover, her flesh had already started to rot, and my fingers were sinking deep into her decaying skin.
I knew that if I didn't act quickly, I would be torn apart in less than a minute.
My hands were nearly numb from the strain, and the foul smell from her mouth made my eyes water, almost closing them.
Her mouth was now only a few centimeters from my nose.
Was I really going to die today...?
Then, a blade was plunged entirely into the fat woman's head, the tip emerging from her chin.
The fat woman was pulled off me and thrown to the side.
At that moment, she had lost all the madness from before, lying on the ground like a pile of stinking sludge.
I lay there, my mind going completely blank.
Suo Tian crouched down, his eyes quickly scanning my entire body.
After confirming I hadn't been bitten, he let out a small sigh of relief.
"Get up. We need to move quickly."
I sniffed, forcing a smile at him, though it felt like the muscles in my face weren't listening to me.
With the help of Suo Tian's outstretched hand, I got up from the floor.
"You okay?" Shen Feng asked from the side, his voice tinged with concern.
"I-I'm fine." I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.
"Let's find the key. We've still got a lot to do."
Thankfully, we found the key Mei Jing had mentioned in the desk drawer to the left of the manager's office.
We didn't dare waste a second.
As soon as we had the key, we rushed straight toward the storage room.
As we passed the fat woman's corpse, I couldn't help but shudder violently.
Looks like I'll be relying on sleeping pills again for the next few nights...
Mei Jing was right—this was indeed the storage room key, and we unlocked the door with ease.
The storage room in this mall was surprisingly large, and to our delight, right at the entrance were hundreds of packs of bottled water.
Just then, we vaguely heard a woman's moan echoing from deeper inside...
Someone else was here?
Suo Tian immediately signaled for us to be quiet, then tilted his head, listening closely, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound.
I quieted down as well and strained to listen.
I could barely make it out—it was faint and unclear.
If not for the serious look on Suo Tian's face, I would've thought I was just imagining it.
Go check it out, he gestured.
We moved forward on silent feet.
The woman's voice continued—off and on, in waves—but we could now tell with certainty that it was coming from somewhere within the huge storage room.
The farther we went, the clearer the sounds became.
When the voice finally rang clearly in our ears—soft moaning and breathless gasps of excitement—I started to get a strange idea…
Before I could dismiss that absurd thought, we turned a corner past a shelving unit—and were met with an outrageous scene…
A man and a woman, completely unaware of their surroundings, were indulging in the most primal human desires.