"Brother Lin, I hope I'm not disturbing your rest?" Boss Hu turned to Lin Tao with a calm expression after the others had left.

  "Not at all, I just woke up," Lin Tao replied with a smile, though he noticed the faint unease in Boss Hu's eyes. He returned to his bed, where Lingling and Axue were holding hands and smiling sweetly at him. Just as he was about to tease them, Michael, who had been dozing on the floor, suddenly sprang up. The fur around his neck bristled, and he bared his thumb-sized fangs, growling menacingly toward the exit.

  "Ah—"

  Before Lin Tao could ask what was happening, a blood-curdling scream echoed from above. It was unmistakably Old Ma's voice.

  "Damn it, it really is a zombie!" Boss Hu stormed out of the room again, this time wielding a rge machete. His eyes were wide with anger, but Lin Tao could see the fear lurking beneath his tough exterior.

  "Xiao Si, go check it out!" Boss Hu barked at a young man who was frantically putting on his shoes. The kid's legs gave out, and he colpsed to the floor, pointing at himself in disbelief. "M-me?"

  "Who else? I'm not asking you to fight the damn thing, just take a look. What are you so scared of?" Boss Hu gred, raising his machete threateningly. The message was clear: if Xiao Si didn't go, he'd be dealt with before the zombie even got to him. Pale-faced, Xiao Si scrambled to his feet, grabbed a sharpened steel rod, and reluctantly began inching toward the exit.

  The people who had been sleeping near the exit had already cleared a wide area, huddling together in fear. As Xiao Si walked past them, their eyes followed him like he was already a dead man. There was no sympathy, no pity—only a faint sense of relief that they hadn't been chosen.

  The exit was dimly lit by a pair of firepots, their flickering fmes barely illuminating the dark passage. Xiao Si slowly pced one foot on the first step of the staircase, sweat pouring down his face and dripping onto the concrete steps. The basement was eerily silent, everyone holding their breath as they waited for his next move. Even the firepots seemed to hold their crackling fmes in check.

  The dark passage loomed like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast, ready to devour anyone who ventured too close. Xiao Si wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, but it kept pouring out, no matter how many times he tried. Finally, after Boss Hu's impatient shout, Xiao Si took a deep breath, grabbed a long spear leaning against the wall, and stepped onto the second stair. The spear gave him a sliver of courage, but his legs still felt like they were made of lead.

  "Gurgle... slurp..."

  A strange sound echoed from the top of the stairs, like someone sucking the juice out of a ripe tomato. In the silence of the basement, the sound was unmistakable—and horrifying.

  Xiao Si froze, his foot hovering above the third step. In normal times, he might not have thought much of it, but in this situation, there was only one expnation: a zombie was feasting on the most delicious part of a human—the brain.

  Xiao Si turned stiffly on the stairs, his st shred of courage evaporating. He was going to run, even if it meant Boss Hu would cut him down. Being killed by a bde was better than being eaten alive.

  "Swish—"

  A head, still spurting blood, tumbled down the stairs and rolled across the floor. Xiao Si's body, now headless, took a few stumbling steps before colpsing with a thud. Blood gushed from his neck, spraying nearly eight meters and drenching the man closest to him.

  Everyone was stunned, including the man now covered in blood. No one had expected Xiao Si's head to come flying off so suddenly. They had imagined countless scenarios—zombies leaping down to tear him apart, or him fleeing in terror after a quick gnce—but no one had anticipated a shadowy figure decapitating him in an instant.

  "Ah—"

  The blood-soaked man let out a scream more piercing than any woman's, a sound so shrill it could have shattered gss. His terror was contagious, and soon others joined in, screaming and scrambling backward in a chaotic frenzy.

  The basement was already packed, and the panic only made things worse. People shoved and cwed at each other, desperate to get away. Boss Hu, furious, swung his machete at a few people to restore order, but the crowd was too dense, and he couldn't even raise his weapon properly. He roared in frustration, but it was no use.

  Before long, several more headless bodies littered the floor, their blood adding to the chaos. Men, now desperate, began throwing weaker women behind them, hoping to slow down whatever monster was lurking in the shadows. But it was a futile effort—once the women were gone, they would be next. Still, they clung to the hope of being the st to die.

  "Bang!"

  A deafening gunshot cut through the screams, bringing a momentary silence to the basement. Bits of concrete rained from the ceiling as everyone turned to see Lin Tao standing in the corner, a rge bck pistol in his hand. The barrel smoked as he gred at the crowd, his expression fierce.

  Those with some knowledge of firearms recognized the weapon as an M1911A1, a powerful handgun capable of taking down a man with a single shot, even if it didn't hit a vital organ. The sheer size of the gun and the thunderous report of its shot were enough to command attention.

  "Anyone who wants to live, shut up and let me through. I'll deal with that thing," Lin Tao said, his voice cold and commanding. He held the gun in one hand while shielding the girls behind him with the other.

  Whether it was the gun or his promise to handle the threat, the crowd obeyed, parting to let him through. Even those at the front stopped pushing and pressed themselves against the walls, seeking whatever safety they could find.

  "Boss Hu, I need your help," Lin Tao said as he reached the middle of the room. Boss Hu, caught off guard, nodded reluctantly. He couldn't back down in front of everyone.

  "When I fire the first shot, lead everyone out. But remember, no chaos. If you panic, none of us are getting out alive," Lin Tao said, his eyes fixed on a dark corner of the room.

  Boss Hu followed his gaze and gasped. In the shadows near the ceiling, two small green lights glowed like eerie nterns, blinking occasionally. He didn't know what they were, but in this situation, it could only mean one thing: a zombie—or something worse.

  "Gulp..." Boss Hu swallowed hard, gripping his machete as he stepped forward. "Don't worry, brother. I'll make sure everyone gets out. We won't hold you back."