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Quickly covering Li Ying’s mouth, Lin Feng whisked her into a small, adjacent office. The room housed only a desk, behind which sat a zombie, presumably a high-ranking police officer, thrashing its arms in the air. Its legs, severed at the knee, lay under the desk. As Lin Feng and Li Ying entered, the zombie flailed more violently, drooling black blood from its mouth.

“Don’t panic. The documents are gone, and we stand no chance against them,” Lin Feng whispered reassuringly into Li Ying’s ear while keeping his hand over her mouth.

Wiping away her tears, Li Ying sighed and signaled with a nod that she was alright.

Seeing her composure return, Lin Feng cautiously removed his hand from her mouth.

A pen clattered from the desk to the floor, the sound piercing the silence of the office like a gunshot.

“Who’s there?” The commander, startled, swiftly raised his rifle and moved toward the office where Lin Feng and Li Ying were hidden.

“We’re just bystanders. We haven’t seen or heard anything,” Lin Feng and Li Ying thought it was the end for them when two women suddenly appeared at the stairway entrance, their hands raised in surrender towards the soldiers.

The commander looked back and forth between the office and the stairway, puzzled. Though the distances were close, the voices clearly came from different directions.

“Are any of you mutated?” he asked the two women.

“No, sir, we have no mutations. We are safe. Are you here to rescue us? Please, take us with you,” the women pleaded desperately.

“No mutations? Soldiers, execute them,” the commander ordered the soldier who had found the documents.

“But, sir…”

“Do it now! That’s an order. They’re infected!” the commander insisted.

“Yes, sir,” the soldier complied reluctantly, raising his silenced rifle. The two women, attempting to flee, were instantly shot dead.

“Good job. You’ve earned your promotion. Remember, anyone unvaccinated is a virus carrier. Only the mutated may be saved,” the commander consoled the trembling soldier. He then pushed open the office door, saw the zombie police chief inside, frowned, and shot it in the head before closing the glass door behind him.

“Mission complete. Let’s retreat,” he commanded, and the soldiers began to leave the police station.

“Are you alright?” Lin Feng asked Li Ying, who looked visibly shaken.

“I’m okay. We were so close to uncovering E City’s secret,” she replied, her voice tinged with disappointment.

As the soldiers departed, Lin Feng and Li Ying emerged from the office. Li Ying approached the shredder and started collecting the shredded paper fragments into a small bag.

“Surely you don’t plan to piece these back together?” Lin Feng asked, gazing in disbelief at the daunting pile of fragments.

“If it’s necessary,” Li Ying responded, determinedly scooping up the pieces.

“They must be officials who arrived after the 20-day explosion announcement. They’ve been searching for three days,” Lin Feng mused, observing the departing soldiers from the window.

Suddenly, the commander glanced up directly at Lin Feng’s window, a smirk playing on his lips.

Lin Feng quickly recoiled, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He had felt as though he locked eyes with the commander. But at this distance, without his kind of vision… they shouldn’t be able to see clearly, right?

“Li Ying, we need to get out of here fast,” Lin Feng urged, his voice tense as he watched Li Ying still gathering the fragments.