Flicking away the cigarette butt, Lin Tao turned his gaze toward a row of garages on the left—six in total—lined up neatly beside the main office building. Two of the roll-up doors were wide open, revealing nothing but emptiness inside. However, the garage on the far right had a half-meter-wide gap at the bottom. Crouching down, Lin Tao peeked inside and quickly lost interest in whatever vehicle was parked there. It wasn’t that the car was faulty—it was an Audi A6. But in this sand-covered world, a sedan like that was practically useless. Even if they managed to drive it out, it would get stuck in the dunes in no time. If they wanted to survive out here, they needed a high-clearance off-road vehicle, no question about it.

  He tossed the cigarette cartons back into the Camry’s trunk and strode toward the garage marked with the number “Three.” Stopping in front of its intact roll-up door, he raised a hand and knocked cautiously. Just as he expected, a few breaths ter, the garage erupted with a loud “BOOM.” The steel panels groaned as something inside smmed against them repeatedly, causing the metal sts to bulge outward. It was as if someone—or something—was furiously pounding the door from the inside.

  Lin Tao simply shrugged, unimpressed. Judging by the intensity of the noise, there had to be at least three or four zombies trapped inside. He had no interest in pying “release the undead” today. Turning away, he moved to the garage marked “Four.” This one was silent. If there were any zombies inside, they were either deaf or crippled. Without hesitation, he bent down and lifted the roll-up door.

  As soon as he saw what was inside, Lin Tao frowned in frustration. A Toyota Reiz. Another sedan. He wasn’t about to waste time wondering why this county had so many Japanese cars—he just wanted to know why not a single damn off-road vehicle was avaible. Even a minivan would have been better than these sedans. At least a minivan could carry more people.

  Ignoring the two gruesome corpses sprawled beside the Reiz—bckened blood spttered across the walls and floor—he had no interest in figuring out how these strangers had died. That information wouldn’t help him survive. Instead, he moved on, yanking open the door of the fifth garage. This time, luck was on his side.

  Inside sat a nearly pristine Changfeng Liebao off-road vehicle.

  A grin spread across Lin Tao’s face. Without wasting a second, he grabbed some tools and expertly popped open the car door. Within moments, he had dismantled part of the dashboard, exposing the ignition wires. He skillfully connected two of the wires, expecting the engine to roar to life—

  Nothing.

  Lin Tao’s smile faded. He sighed, dropping the wires. The battery was dead. The vehicle had been sitting idle for too long, completely drained. There was no mechanic around to help, which left only one solution: push-starting it.

  After hopping out of the car, he opened the st garage. This one held no vehicles, but it did contain several barrels of gasoline and a pile of automotive supplies. It was clearly used as a storage room for the motor pool. Without hesitation, he loaded all the fuel into the Liebao and then headed into the office building to gather the others.

  With everyone’s combined effort, Lin Tao took the driver’s seat, steering while the rest of the group pushed with all their might. After just a few meters, the engine sputtered to life, roaring with power. The Liebao was up and running.

  “Alright, everyone, squeeze in. It’s a tight fit, but it’s better than walking!” Lin Tao announced as he hopped out of the vehicle and dusted off his hands.

  The girls had already developed a strong sense of teamwork. Without needing any instruction, they worked together, loading their supply packs onto the roof. Bai Ru led a few of them back into the office building to retrieve any useful supplies.

  “Hey, I just remembered something!” Hu Laoda suddenly smacked his thigh, pointing at a small two-story building in the courtyard. “Upstairs in that building, there’s a small storage room. It’s packed with cigarettes and liquor! Back when the county magistrate hosted a grand banquet, all the alcohol and smokes came from there!”

  “Let’s check it out.” Lin Tao nodded. He wasn’t particurly interested in alcohol, and he had already secured enough high-end cigarettes. But water—water was a different story. When they were on foot, the women couldn’t carry much due to the weight, so they were critically low on drinking water. If they were lucky, the storage room might contain some bottled water.

  The two men climbed the stairs of the auxiliary building, a weathered red-brick structure from an older era. The corridors had old-fashioned iron railings, and the walls were peeling badly. If Lin Tao hadn’t already found a stash of luxury goods in the Camry, he might have thought the county’s top official was an unusually frugal and honest man.

  Hu Laoda rubbed his hands together excitedly, stopping in front of a dark green security door. Above it, a sign read “Archives Room.” He turned to Lin Tao and said, “This is it. Only the office director had the key to this pce. No one else was allowed in. There’s probably enough stuff inside to open a small convenience store!”

  “And where’s the office director now?” Lin Tao asked casually.

  “Uh… how would I know? He’s either dead or turned into a zombie by now!” Hu Laoda was caught off guard by the question, staring at Lin Tao in confusion.

  “Well, since we can’t find him, how exactly do you suggest we get this door open? With your Type 81 rifle or my handgun?” Lin Tao tapped the heavy-duty steel door, which immediately responded with a deep, solid echo. It was practically mocking them—without a key, they weren’t getting inside.

  Hu Laoda was dumbfounded. The rural-style construction of the building meant there were barely any windows in the hallway, and this particur room didn’t even have a small ventition window. More importantly, this type of security door had at least nine locking points. Without a welding torch or cutting tools, even if there was a mountain of treasure inside, all they could do was sigh in frustration.

  “How about I shoot at it a few times?” Hu Laoda suggested, reluctantly unslinging his rifle.

  “Don’t waste your bullets. Let’s go,” Lin Tao said, shaking his head. Their firearms weren’t powerful enough to break through the thick steel door. Even a shotgun or .45 caliber handgun wouldn’t be enough to snap those thumb-thick lock bolts. Unless they had specialized shotgun slugs, which they didn’t, forcing it open was a lost cause.

  Dejected, Hu Laoda followed Lin Tao downstairs. Bai Ru, who had been keeping watch, approached them with a puzzled look.

  “Lin Ye, what’s wrong? Was there nothing inside the storage room?”

  “We don’t know. The security door is locked, and we don’t have the key,” Lin Tao replied with a wry smile, spreading his hands helplessly.

  “Damn it! Whoever had the key should’ve at least left it behind when they died!” Hu Laoda kicked a trash can in frustration and spat on the ground.

  “The key? Wait a second!” Bai Ru’s eyes suddenly lit up. She turned and sprinted back into the office building. Moments ter, she returned, triumphantly holding up a rge ring of keys. “Try these!”

  “Where did you find them?” Lin Tao asked, surprised as he took the heavy key ring.

  “On a zombie in the bathroom. The keys were hanging from its belt. It had a huge, fat belly, so I remembered it clearly!” Bai Ru grinned proudly.

  “Hah! That might just be him! The office director was a big guy too!” Hu Laoda said, patting his own stomach in amusement.

  “Let’s go test them out. Worth a shot!” Lin Tao said, turning back toward the security door, keys in hand.