The group followed Cao Mei into the building, but the interior was far from what they had hoped for. Sand blown in through the shattered windows covered nearly every inch of the floor, forming small dunes that buried overturned tables and chairs, leaving only their corners visible. A collective sigh of disappointment spread among them—inside or out, it was all the same: a barren wastend swallowed by sand.

  "Everyone, gather in the second-floor dining area. While ensuring safety, keep an eye out for food supplies!" Lin Tao stopped in his tracks, scanning the surroundings carefully. Once he confirmed there was no immediate danger, he stepped forward and tapped the gun tightly gripped in Cao Mei’s hand. Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he pointed outside and said in a firm voice, "Those of you with firearms, be careful—unless absolutely necessary, do not fire. These things may have lost their sense of smell for now, but their hearing is still sharp!"

  To emphasize his point, Lin Tao pointed to his own ear and gave Cao Mei a knowing look. She bit her lower lip and nodded, her previously haughty expression briefly fshing with uncertainty.

  Inside the building, a few lingering zombies still roamed, but Boss Hu quickly took charge, once again dispying his masculine bravado. Wielding a curved kukri he had stumbled upon, he effortlessly decapitated a few of the creatures. Smugly, he raised an eyebrow at his lover, Li Li, who immediately fawned over him—wiping his sweat, handing him water, her every movement dripping with flirtation.

  "Hu, swap your bde with Bai Ru’s," Lin Tao remarked casually as he sipped from a bottle of mineral water.

  "Why? This knife is sharp as hell," Boss Hu said, gncing at the sleek bck kukri in his hand, reluctant to part with it.

  "Kukris are better suited for smaller-framed fighters with less raw strength—like the South Asians they were originally designed for. You’re almost six feet tall. For someone your size, a long machete like Bai Ru’s would be far more effective," Lin Tao expined, examining the knife briefly before chuckling. "And this? A knockoff Cold Steel—barely decent."

  "Shit, even knives have bootleg versions now?" Boss Hu scoffed, gncing over at Bai Ru with hesitation before finally handing the kukri over. He took her spring steel machete in return, testing its weight with a few swings. At st, he nodded in satisfaction.

  With Michael leading the search, it didn’t take long for the group to clear out the remaining zombies in the building. The women wasted no time grabbing clean clothes and rushing to the backyard, eager to enjoy a rare open-air bath. Lin Tao and Boss Hu, on the other hand, sensibly stepped outside the front entrance—they, too, needed to scrub the grime off their bodies. Who knew when they'd next see a downpour like this?

  "This rain is damn strange," Boss Hu muttered as he thered shampoo into his hair, gncing up at the rolling storm clouds. "Been a long time since I’ve seen it rain this hard for this long." At his feet sat a half-used bottle of Head & Shoulders—his "loot" from a zombie he had looted earlier.

  "Wash up quick," Lin Tao said, his gaze shifting to the scattered zombies wandering across the parking lot. The rain had them frozen in pce, their heads tilted skyward, staring bnkly at the falling droplets. There was even a strange look of reverence on their decayed faces, though Lin Tao knew it was just an illusion. As soon as the rain stopped, their feral hunger would return.

  He had no intention of dealing with them. As long as they took proper precautions, the undead wouldn't pose a real threat. If anything, they could serve as an early warning system against hostile survivors. With that in mind, Lin Tao rinsed the soap from his hair, gave his body a quick wash, and headed back into the building.

  "Wait up, I gotta take a dump," Boss Hu called out. He rinsed off hastily, grabbed a tattered Road Ats from the ground, and scampered off to do his business under the eaves of the building.

  Then—

  "Bang!"

  Just as Lin Tao finished pulling on his pants inside the lobby, a gunshot echoed from the backyard. His heart jumped—he instantly recognized the distinct sound of the Type 81 rifle he had given to Bai Ru. He had made it clear earlier: unless absolutely necessary, they were not to fire. Something serious had happened.

  Without a second thought, Lin Tao grabbed his pistol and sprinted toward the backyard.

  As he burst through the door, his eyes immediately nded on Bai Ru, standing under the eaves cd only in her underwear, her grip steady on the Type 81. Behind her, the other women huddled together, stark naked and shielding themselves. Only Cao Mei stood apart, wearing nothing but a pair of bck panties, her full, curvaceous torso completely exposed. Yet she showed no shame—her shotgun was raised, aimed unwaveringly at three unfamiliar men.

  The backyard wasn’t particurly rge, but being next to the river, it had been designed with a touch of elegance—stone benches, a decorative rock garden, and even a small fountain. Now, beside a towering Taihu rock formation, the three dust-covered strangers stood frozen in fear. One of them had already been shot—he y on the ground, clutching his bleeding leg and howling in agony.

  "What the hell happened?" Lin Tao asked, his tone low and cold as he stepped to Bai Ru’s side. Though his voice was calm, his grip on the gun remained firm.

  "Those three bastards popped out of nowhere and tried to assault us. I gave them a warning shot," Bai Ru expined quickly. Now that Lin Tao was here, she lowered the Type 81 slightly but kept a close eye on the men. Meanwhile, the other women hurriedly dressed—exposing their bodies to Lin Tao was one thing, but these scumbags? Not a chance.

  "Boss, please—this is all a misunderstanding!" The man on the right, a middle-aged guy wearing mismatched camoufge pants and a grease-stained red T-shirt, dropped to his knees in desperation. His companion quickly followed suit, pleading, "We were just joking around with the dies, we didn’t mean anything by it!"

  Lin Tao gnced at the makeshift spears and shields they had discarded nearby. Though crude, the weapons had been carefully welded together—far too well-made for ordinary drifters. Their retively good physical condition also suggested they came from a stable survivor settlement.

  "You’re from a survivor base?" Lin Tao asked coolly.

  "Y-yes, boss. We go out for supplies every week. Today, we just happened to search our way here—we really were just joking around!" The younger man stammered, still supporting their wounded companion while nervously eyeing Lin Tao. Gone was any trace of the sleazy arrogance he had dispyed moments ago.

  "Joking? Grabbing at us and groping is your idea of a joke?" Cao Mei had finished dressing and stormed forward, her shotgun now pressed firmly against the young man's forehead. Over the past few days, she had killed enough zombies to develop a real edge—her expression was now one of cold fury.

  "Sis, w-we wouldn’t dare! It was just a misunderstanding, I swear!" The young man trembled violently, his face drained of color. In his panic, he even forgot about his injured comrade, frantically trying to crawl backward.

  Lin Tao pced a hand on Cao Mei’s gun, gently pushing the barrel downward. His sharp eyes flicked between the three men before he asked, "How long have you been out here?"

  "Three… three days, boss."

  "And your survivor base? How far is it? How many people?"

  "About two days on foot… there are five or six thousand of us…"

  "Five or six thousand? Not bad," Lin Tao mused. He then smirked and nodded toward their half-empty backpacks. "You sure you’re just looking for food? Normally, the more you search, the more you find. Yet you guys seem to have less and less."

  His words hit like a whip. The two men flinched, exchanging uneasy gnces. After a brief hesitation, the older one finally admitted, "You’re right… we weren’t out here for food. We’re looking for someone."

  "Looking for someone?" Lin Tao’s brows furrowed. His instincts screamed at him—this wasn’t just any search mission.

  "A kid… he killed our boss’s son. We’re hunting him down," the older man confessed.

  Before Lin Tao could respond, he caught a shift in the younger man’s expression. Suddenly, the guy’s eyes lit up, his face twisting in wild excitement as he stared past Lin Tao’s shoulder.

  A chill ran down Lin Tao’s spine.

  Something was wrong.