"Move! Move!" Inside the echoing fire escape, Cheng Du, with Sun Ya strapped to his back, frantically barked at Wei De.
Wei De wheezed and groaned with every heavy step, the beam of his flashlight trembling violently in his grip.
"I might be cured, but I can't keep up with your freakish stamina... Who the hell was that guy?!"
"He's strong! Way too strong! The sun is down; the Director absolutely cannot beat him in a straight fight," Cheng Du shot back, his voice thick with panic. "I need to get you two to the car, then double back to help him. If I don't, I swear to God he's going to die."
"Then why are you still babysitting us? Don't waste your energy! We can walk down a flight of stairs ourselves, put me down!" Sun Ya yelled, repeatedly smacking Cheng Du on the shoulder.
Cheng Du ignored him, continuing his mad dash downward. "No way in hell! I have to personally escort you to the convoy. There could still be stray Zombies in the lobby. If either of you gets a scratch, the Director will hate my guts for the rest of his life."
Tossing that over his shoulder, Cheng Du glanced back.
Wei De had already fallen more than a dozen steps behind.
Seeing the old man trembling as he struggled down the concrete stairs, Cheng Du gritted his teeth and abruptly dropped Sun Ya from his back.
He reached around to the zipper on the seat of his tactical pants. With a sharp zzzzip, the entire back flap dropped open, fully exposing his bare ass to the cold air.
Wei De's flashlight beam swept across the pale expanse, and the old man immediately recoiled in horror, clutching his own shoulders. "What the hell are you doing?! You can't do that here!"
"Shut up and hold on!" Cheng Du snapped. He grabbed an old man in each hand, hauled them off their feet, and leapt straight over the railing toward the landing below.
Just a split-second before they splattered against the concrete, a wet phbbbt echoed out. Cheng Du activated his ability, blasting a roaring jet of fire from his exposed rear to violently cushion their descent.
"Aiiieeee!!!!"
Fighting the intense, stomach-dropping sensation of freefall, the two terrified, pale-faced elders reached out in perfect, unspoken synchronization, digging their fingers like vises into Cheng Du's hip bones.
"What the hell are you grabbing?!" Cheng Du barked, twisting his neck to glare at them.
"Just helping you steer! We were terrified you'd blow a crooked gasket..."
...
Meanwhile, back at the Talent Activity Center.
Fu Qingdai sat on the landing halfway between the first and second floors, silently oiling her bow and checking her arrows. Occasionally, she glanced down at Fu Hu in the lobby.
Fu Hu and a few core team members were currently distributing firearms to the survivors.
This protocol had been established early on; the men receiving weapons were strictly those proven reliable through daily observations and performance assessments.
However, not a single woman was armed. Given the brutal reality of their rationing and physical limitations, women were not yet qualified for frontline combat roles.
After wiping her bow pristine, Fu Qingdai brought her knees together, rested her chin in her hands, and stared vacantly into space.
Dawn would break soon... As soon as her brother returned, the convoy could finally roll out toward the military district.
Nothing could possibly go wrong now.
Once they breached the military zone, everyone's survival would be guaranteed.
They would have endless food, clean water, and heavy artillery.
When the brass started assigning permanent living quarters... hmm, she would have to make sure they secured a prime location.
A sudden, private thought made her pale cheeks flush a delicate pink, her eyes curving into happy little crescents.
The grand hall was perfectly quiet, save for the rhythmic, metallic clack of men racking slides and loading magazines.
Lost in her optimistic daydream, Fu Qingdai let out a soft yawn and stretched her arms high above her head.
But the instant her hands reached their apex, a violent, icy shockwave ripped through her nervous system.
She froze instantly, her blood running cold as she slowly, mechanically tilted her head toward the ceiling.
Pure malice. A suffocating, endless wave of killing intent was bleeding down through the concrete of the roof.
And that specific, putrid aura... it was her. The woman from yesterday. Liang Cui!
She was back?! How was that physically possible? She had been beaten half to death; how could she possibly return for revenge this fast?
It defied all logic...
Fu Qingdai swallowed hard, her throat painfully dry.
What should she do? The monster wasn't making a move... Was she hesitating because of the heavily armed men downstairs?
No!!
The realization hit her like a sledgehammer, draining the remaining color from her face. Absolute panic flared in her eyes.
Liang Cui's power—she could brainwash men... and Fu Hu had just handed out assault rifles to half the lobby. If she took control of them...
Fu Qingdai gritted her teeth, sprang to her feet, and marched swiftly down the stairs.
Hitting the ground floor, she abruptly glanced up at the ceiling.
The predatory malice above was tracking her movements perfectly... Liang Cui was hunting her specifically.
Forcing her breathing to steady, Fu Qingdai deliberately veered toward the east wing; the oppressive aura shifted to match her.
She juked and changed directions three more times. The killing intent clung to her like a shadow.
It was undeniable. She was the sole target!
But how was the bitch tracking her coordinates through a thick slab of reinforced concrete?
Fu Qingdai frantically scanned her surroundings, her gaze finally snagging on the convoy parked outside the glass lobby doors... the windshield reflections!
Every single survivor in the hall was dressed in dark, grime-covered clothing; her pristine, pure white tactical suit stuck out like a flare in the dark.
Liang Cui was triangulating her position using the faint reflections off the glass. To an ordinary person, those warped reflections would be useless noise.
This confirmed a critical flaw: Liang Cui had superhuman senses, but she didn't possess x-ray vision or thermal mapping.
She needed to sound the alarm before it was too late. She had to disarm the men immediately... Fu Qingdai bit her lip raw, her eyes frantically sweeping the crowd for Fu Hu.
He must have stepped into a side corridor; he was nowhere to be seen.
Warn her mother? Absolutely not. She would break down in hysterics. Any sudden commotion would tip off the predator on the roof.
She had to find her father... Fu Qingdai took five rapid steps forward, then slammed on the brakes.
A cold bead of sweat slid down her temple. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs.
The malice hovering above had stopped moving.
Why did she stop? Did she realize I spotted her tracking method?
As her mind raced, Fu Qingdai swept her gaze across the crowded lobby.
Several armed men were beginning to shift uncomfortably, absently scratching at their necks and arms.
The movements were subtle, but combined with the suffocating aura bleeding through the ceiling, it painted a terrifying picture.
She was out of time! She had to neutralize the threat now!
No one in this building could survive a direct clash with that woman. Her ability was already taking root. If Liang Cui dropped through the skylight and unleashed her full power, every man in the room would become her mindless meat-shield. Armed or not, it would be a total massacre!
There was only one play. The only way to guarantee the camp's survival... was to act as bait.
Fu Qingdai's teeth chattered. She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath to cage her terror, and marched straight toward the nearest armed guard.
Positioning herself so her back blocked the glass doors, she dropped into a crouch and hissed, "Do not speak. Hand me your weapon... By the Director's authority, hand over your rifle for inspection!"
The guard looked completely baffled, but Fu Qingdai's status was clear. He didn't dare disobey.
He unclipped the submachine gun from his tactical sling and passed it over.
She gave a curt nod, slung the heavy weapon over her shoulder, and moved directly to the next man. Within seconds, she had secured a pump-action shotgun as well.
Loaded down with her compound bow, a quiver of arrows, an SMG, and a shotgun, Fu Qingdai clenched her fists. Grinding her teeth together, she broke for the rear exit.
The second she shoved the heavy fire doors open, she broke into a dead sprint toward the labyrinth of abandoned residential blocks across the street.
She didn't even need to check her six; her innate danger-sense screamed that the predator had immediately leapt off the roof to give chase.
Her firearms proficiency was utter garbage. If she emptied her magazines and missed, she'd have to take the fight indoors.
Inside the claustrophobic apartments, Liang Cui wouldn't know the layout. Fu Qingdai could use the tight corners and blind spots to orchestrate a lethal ambush.
The bitch was still heavily wounded from yesterday. In a pure one-on-one deathmatch, Fu Qingdai actually had a fighting chance.
Exactly as she predicted, the woman shadowed her every step.
She barely made it fifty yards before a sickeningly sweet, venomous voice drifted through the dark alleyway.
"You precious little bitch. I figured peeling you away from the herd was going to take some actual effort. I didn't expect you to be so eager to die that you'd deliver yourself right to me!"
"Funny you should say that! I was just coming to look for you!"
The moment the words left Fu Qingdai's lips, she spun on her heel, the submachine gun already leveled from the hip. The steel barrel locked dead center on Liang Cui's chest.
"What the—?!" Liang Cui's eyes bulged in shock.
A deafening roar shattered the night as Fu Qingdai held down the trigger, unleashing a relentless wall of lead!