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Under the cloak of darkness, three figures slipped toward the residential complex’s edge. Song Zhe looked up at the high-rises piercing the night and asked, “Lin Feng, isn’t this the old district that’s been revamped?”

Lin Feng nodded, explaining “Yup, this used to be a village till it was bought out. My parents saw it was on the cheaper side so they purchased a house here.” He had already donned a black scarf around his white furry ears prior to this. The group—Song Zhe, Lin Feng, and Liu Mengqi—had arrived with a mission to complete. The doctor, Hao Jian and Anna were to wait in the car, ready to aid in or leave once they had extracted Lin Feng’s parents.

Only Song Zhe and Lin Feng had the advantage of night vision. Liu Mengqi didn’t, but she was confident in their protection.

“Do you see an opening we can just vault over?” Slightly impatient, she interrupted their small talk. The looming entrance was swarming with zombies, and clearly not an option.

“Found one.” Lin Feng pointed to a breached fence—less guarded and thus, their best chance.

With silent understanding, Lin Feng and Song Zhe advanced to dispatch the zombies. Enclosed by walls, they had no fear of attracting an undead horde.

“Song Zhe, could you take Liu Mengqi to No. 4? My family’s in No. 5,” Lin Feng instructed.

The families of Lin Feng and Liu Mengqi were close, though they hadn’t bought apartments in the same building. Both families were on the same fifth floor level; Lin Feng could even see into Liu Mengqi’s room from his window. In the past, she used to knock on her window with a broom to wake him, until she broke a pane of glass and started going to his room instead.

Walking through the hall into the familiar building, Lin Feng felt a pang of nostalgia upon seeing the gym equipment on the ground floor, now coated with a crust of dark, blood-red ice.

Tightening his clothes, he carefully navigated the icy debris that could betray his steps with sound, making his way to the fire escape. The climb to the fifth floor was short, and within minutes, he reached his family’s door, extracting the key wedged in his phone case.

Hesitating at the door, Lin Feng pondered what to say upon seeing his parents. Would they mistake him for Liu Mengqi? With a sigh, he decided that now was not the time for such thoughts. The priority was to get his parents out of this zombie-infested complex. Explanations could wait.

Click.

With a crisp sound, the door creaked open slightly.

“Mom, are you there?” Lin Feng whispered, gripping his dagger tightly, praying he wouldn’t have to use it on his own parents.

Silence.

Lin Feng listened intently through the narrow opening but heard nothing. No one seemed to be home?

Pushing the door open further, he stepped into the vacant room. To be certain, he tapped the interior table with his dagger.

Then, a chilling sound seized his breath, his mind blanked, and the dagger nearly slipped from his grasp.

Groans emanated from the direction of the bathroom.

Trembling, Lin Feng backed towards the door, tears streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks from the sheer terror of what could possibly await him ahead.

“Dad, you promised… you promised to protect Mom for life, didn’t you?”

Wiping his tears, suppressing the pain that choked his chest, his cold hand gripped the dagger firmly as he advanced towards the bathroom.