Under Yang Mu's urging, Liu Dongfeng and the other two men finally took action, throwing the zombie corpses directly out of the window.

Yang Mu stood up and went to check another door.

The door was locked; there was no way to tell if anyone—dead or alive—was inside. But since it was locked, it was likely secure. If there were zombies inside, they wouldn’t be able to open the door and rush out, right?

By the stairwell, there was a small door leading to the rooftop entrance.

When Liu Dongfeng and the others rushed up earlier, they had attracted a few zombies in pursuit.

Yang Mu found some wooden boards and chains, sealing the door tightly to ensure the zombies inside couldn't get out.

Descending the stairs, the ninth floor was secure; both apartments had their doors locked, and no zombies lurked in the corridor.

He also sealed the stairwell door on the ninth floor before moving downward.

The staircases on the eighth, seventh, and sixth floors were all safe, a surprising stroke of luck. Perhaps any zombies that had been there had already fled upward.

Locking the stairwell doors on these floors connected the tenth and sixth floors, achieving his intended objective.

The sixth-floor residents were Liu Dongfeng and Gu Dasen.

They each returned to their homes, while Chu Hong stayed by Yang Mu’s side this time, refusing to leave him.

Yang Mu checked the fifth floor, and it was safe as well.

From the stairwell window on the fifth floor, he could see outside: the mass of zombies had piled up to the height of the third floor, stretching for over a thousand meters in all directions.

It was a grim twist of fate—the helicopter last night hadn’t evacuated anyone, and the subsequent explosion had sealed their fate here.

Returning to the sixth floor, he entered Liu Dongfeng’s apartment, moving the sofa and furniture to block the stairs between the fifth and sixth floors.

Yang Mu wanted to create an enclosed space so they could sleep more peacefully at night.

After thoroughly inspecting from top to bottom, ensuring no openings that zombies could easily breach, he finally headed to Gu Dasen's apartment.

Before entering, he noticed Chu Hong was still following him. Yang Mu extended his hand and pushed her away.

"Go follow Liu Dongfeng, will you? Stop clinging to me. Don’t you know how annoying you are?"

"Yang Mu..."

Chu Hong pouted at him, her expression both frustrating and amusing to Yang Mu.

Reflecting on the past two years of being a live-in son-in-law, although Chu Hong had caused her fair share of trouble, without her, life in the Wen family would’ve been unbearably lonely.

With a sullen twist of her hips, Chu Hong reluctantly walked away, leaving Yang Mu to enter Gu Dasen’s apartment.

Hu Die stood in the living room, having changed clothes.

She wore black, tight-fitting leggings, white sneakers, and a black sleeveless, form-fitting top. A professional-looking bow hung across her back, along with a quiver containing just ten arrows.

Gu Dasen wasn’t in the living room—Hu Die had sent him to pack their belongings. They, too, needed to prepare, like Yang Mu, bringing food and essentials, as their home was no longer safe.

Yang Mu sat on the sofa, gazing at Hu Die.

"You live here too?"

"Mm-hmm, but I haven’t done anything with Gu Dasen yet. We just started living together. I’m in the guest room. He’s such a coward. I’ve given him plenty of chances, but he never takes them."

Hu Die’s voice was soft as she continued, her eyes drifting towards the bedroom where Gu Dasen was.

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"Didn’t you want to see me in something more... seductive? Sister will wear it for you when she gets the chance."

Yang Mu shook his head.

"I'm not in the mood anymore. Bring those clothes with you. When the time comes and we find a romantic place—fireflies, candlelight, red wine, a beautiful woman—then it might be fun."

"You little rascal, you’ve got quite the flair for romance."

"To be honest, my interest in you is minimal. You’re already prepared to abandon Gu Dasen at any moment, and you’d likely abandon me just as easily. We’re merely allies, nothing more. When the time comes for us to part ways, there won’t be any hard feelings."

Hu Die blinked, then let out a soft laugh after a moment of silence.

"Don't worry. Sister isn’t heartless. I haven't been with Gu Dasen long enough to develop any real feelings. But if you manage to stir my affections, I’d be willing to live and die for you. Even if we’re trapped with no food, I’d gladly cut off pieces of my own flesh to feed you, just so you can survive."

"Haha! Bravo! That sounded almost believable. Alright, get your boyfriend to move all the food to the rooftop, along with ropes, wooden planks, and anything else we might need. We can’t rely on this one building alone. We’ll need escape routes. That’s what’s most important now. I’ll tell Liu Dongfeng and the others to start as well. Later, we’ll gather the food and divide it up."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes! Food is a resource, and it should be fairly distributed. Everyone should manage their own."

Hu Die frowned slightly, thinking Yang Mu was being overly calculating, which would certainly make him unpopular.

An hour later, everyone had returned to the top-floor apartment, following Yang Mu's instructions to pool all the food together.

There was plenty—enough to last ten days for the group. Most thought it unnecessary to be so meticulous.

Ten days. Surely, they would escape by then? Would those outside the quarantine really abandon them?

But for now, Yang Mu was the leader, and if he said to divide the food, so be it.

After the supplies were divided, Yang Mu remained in his original bedroom. This room was ideal, as it had ropes connecting to the adjacent building and a zipline leading downstairs, providing a perfect vantage point.

Liu Dongfeng’s family, however, didn’t want to stay upstairs and insisted on returning to their own home.

Yang Mu had no objections. Now that they had gathered all the food, parting ways was actually beneficial for him.

Gu Dasen also wanted to return home, and after a moment of hesitation, Hu Die agreed. She secretly sent Yang Mu a message on WeChat:

“I’ll come over tonight and cook you something. Let me show you my culinary skills.”

Yang Mu smirked and, in response, sent her an old provocative photo of a naked woman he had saved.

A few seconds later, Hu Die replied with an even more daring and suggestive picture, one that almost made Yang Mu’s nose bleed.

Chu Hong was the only one left, hesitating and pacing. Yang Mu ignored her, went straight into the bedroom, and lay down to rest. His body was drenched in sweat after all the work, but it wasn’t fatigue—just tension.

He pulled out his phone, contemplating how he shouldn’t just do the work without seeking credit. After all, he had spent the past two years in the Wen family, achieving nothing of significance.

With that thought, he dialed Wen Sijia’s number.

“Move that piano into the truck!” Wen Sijia’s voice came through the phone.

“Wen Sijia, what are you up to?”

“I’m moving. How’s Chu Hong?”

“She’s fine. I’ve been protecting her.”

“And you?”

“Well, I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“Good. A top-level directive has been issued—prioritizing the safety of the perimeter and controlling the virus while doing everything possible to rescue survivors. But helicopters aren’t operational right now, so ground forces have been dispatched. The news is urging survivors to find their own way out. There are three designated exits in the quarantine zone—A, B, and C. These areas are sealed off. Once inside, you won’t come into contact with zombies; there’s food provided, but you won’t be able to leave until you've been examined and observed. Yang Mu, if you have the chance, I suggest you and Chu Hong try to escape together. I put your name on the rescue list earlier, pulling quite a few strings. But now, according to higher-ups, except for a few particularly important people, everyone else will be treated equally.”

Yang Mu’s mood brightened somewhat. It seemed that, after all this time, Wen Sijia still had some lingering feelings for him. At least the "white swan" hadn’t completely forgotten him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on dying anytime soon. Send me the addresses for the A, B, and C exits. Also, where are you moving to?”

“Outside Hanning City. I bought a piece of land there. Originally, I was going to build a vacation resort, but now I plan to turn it into an apocalypse fortress. A lot of people are doing the same. The quarantine zone is bound to be dangerous. While the world outside may not have zombies, the chaos among people is just as terrifying. You’ll see once you get out… Yang Mu, I sincerely hope you make it out alive.”

“Heh, Wen Sijia, you know what?”

“What?”

“I’ve been your live-in son-in-law for two years, and you’ve never said as much to me as you did just now.”

“Yang Mu, don’t misunderstand, I just—”

“Stop explaining, I know you never thought much of me.”

“I don’t look down on you. But love and marriage, those things depend on fate. You were just a driver. If it hadn’t been for my father, we never would’ve ended up in this marriage.”

“Tch, isn’t that fate?”

“Of course not. And if it is, it’s a cursed fate.”

Yang Mu slammed the phone down, anger rising within him. After all that talk, she still didn’t respect him.

Hmph, if the apocalypse really comes, stripping away all titles and privileges, Yang Mu was eager to see who would survive longer: him, the so-called toad with nothing, or her, the white swan with everything?

Can’t fly away, can you? I’ll sink my teeth into your leg and never let go, pluck every feather off of you!

As he was lost in these wild thoughts, a sudden knock came at the window.

Startled, Yang Mu looked up. It was the four special forces soldiers, accompanied by a puppy and the top-ranking figure, Yelena Li, crawling over from the building opposite along the rope bridge he had set up...